About 365 Days in Zion


Tired of life in the city, in the Fall of 2004,we relocated from the Chicago suburbs to the small town of Glendale, Utah (pop. ~330) near Zion National Park. Karen gave up her job as a commercial photographer for a large internet and catalog retailer to become a small town high school teacher. Christian, promotions manager and action sports photographer, continued his work on a remote basis.

With a strong background in photography and an intense love for the American Southwest, we embarked on the experience of photographing 365 consecutive days in Zion National Park in an attempt to capture its splendor.

Photographing 365 Days in Zion was initially envisioned for a potential book project. However, the project quickly became an experience, which left a lasting impression on us as we discovered Zion lives true to its ancient Hebrew meaning of "a place of refuge or sanctuary". To explore Zion for a day or a week is incredible, but to experience a year in this outdoor sanctuary transformed Zion from a beautiful destination to a place of intimacy we now consider home.

In the beginning, spending a year in Zion sounded "neat", but as the project progressed we discovered the difficulties and fascinations of capturing Zion's beauty in all its seasons. The year of 2004-2005 proved to be a special year as well, with an historic amount of rainfall and flooding transforming every canyon into a stunning waterfall or raging river.

This blog showcases some of our triumphs (and failings) as we explore Zion one day at a time. Posting begins Sept 26, 2009.

About Us


Christian Williams
  • Was introduced to photography by my dearly beloved (K: "How old am I, 95?")
  • Started photographing professional paintball tournaments. Covered the US (and some international) paintball circuit for 7 years, with a mix of other photography in between.
  • No, I will not take pictures at your wedding.
  • Like this picture because it shows I know what a graduated neutral density filter is (K: "Or it just shows that you've read Galen Rowell's book"). Me: "Ahem, that's 'books'".
  • Born in Arizona, moved to Germany, then Chicago, then Utah, back to Chicago, back to Utah, then to Vienna, Austria.
  • Life long ambition: Open up a Pizza & Kebap Shop (if you don't know what a Kebap is you haven't lived).



Karen Williams
  • Started taking pictures when I was 12 with my Dad's manual Olympus. Had my own darkroom in high school. Got sucked into the paintball world by Christian (C: "That's me!").
  • Covered paintball events and did product photography for a major retailer/catalog company. Single handedly photographed 3000+ pairs of shoes. (C: "Why did you only use one hand?")
  • Love backpacking. Lizards. Flowers. Bugs and frogs. It's the little things that make life worth living. (C: "Naturally a small person would say that.")
  • Like this picture because it shows me where I feel most comfortable. Outside, (C: "in the dirt"), in my backpacking shoes...actually I don't like shoes. But I like where my backpacking shoes take me.
  • Born in Huntington Beach, California. Lived in San Francisco area, Utah, Chicago. Currently reside in Vienna, Austria.
  • Lifelong ambition: To work in a Pizza and Kebap shop, with all of my little rugrats working along side me.

Monthly Archive

365 IN ZION

365 Days in Zion is a photo experience by Karen and Christian Williams. Together, we spent an entire year in Zion National Park amidst snow, rain, flash floods, brush fires, and the beautiful sunny blue skies that typify Southern Utah in the United States of America.

365 Days in Zion National Park

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