All of this, the photography and the 3d models, started in December of 1997 as I was driving up state street in Utah county. I had just crested the hill that drops down from Orem to Lindon. I saw ahead of me a dark overcast valley with a bright pillar of light shining on the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple. I was struck with the scene as I drove the rest of the way home. So much so, that when I got home I grabbed my cheap point and shoot camera, drove back to the spot, and tried to capture the scene. The lighting had changed, but it was still kind of there. I then drove to the temple, stopping on the way to get a couple of other shots.
I was working at a store with a photo center at the time, and I developed the film a couple of days later. In retrospect, the photos were terrible.
But I was in a bad place in my life back then. A bad job, a bad relationship, and I needed something to grab onto. So I picked temple photography as my anchor.
As I write this now, it has been 26 years, 93 temples, and 47,000+ photographs.