Day 355: September 15, 2005 - Sunrise

by Christian Williams
I got up early and headed out to East Zion for a view of the early morning light. This photo is looking west toward Bridge Mountain and East Temple. Note the tunnel that cuts directly through the rock in the bottom right corner.

Day 290: July 12, 2005 - Morning in the Park

by Christian Williams
I went to Zion early this morning. As I hiked along the striped rock, the sun began to illuminate the mountain tops in the distance, causing the rock to glow with warm light.

Day 202: April 15, 2005 - Shadow Mountain

by Christian Williams
I love the contrast of light and dark that sunrise brings to Zion. As the sun rises in the east, shadows appear to stretch out across the backsides of all the rocky peaks and from the canyons below.

Day 117: January 20, 2005 - Sunrise Attempt

by Christian Williams
I woke early in the morning and headed to Zion to take pictures at sunrise. I set up my tripod, and shot some photos, but they didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped. Sometimes even the best laid plans don't go how we want them to.

Day 81: December 15, 2004 - East Zion Sunrise

by Christian Williams

As I walked through Zion in the early morning hours, the rising sun changed the sky to soft colors of pink and purple.

Day 78: December 12, 2004 - Shapes at Sunrise

by Karen Williams
Zion at sunrise is an study of light and dark, as the rising sun casts shadows across the valley, the cliffs seem to arise out of darkness to greet the new day.

Day 69: December 3, 2004 - Bad Luck

by Christian Williams
I went out early again to enjoy the sunrise on this icy morning, and was rewarded with more spectacular sunbursts peaking over the top of the mountain.

by Christian Williams

The streams of melting snow had all frozen solid overnight, creating images of moving water that were just beginning to thaw.

by Christian Williams

In the middle of my hike, I slipped on some of the spectacular ice, and fell directly on top of my camera, breaking my lens in half and damaging my camera beyond repair, thus ending my photography exploits for the day.

Day 68: December 2, 2004 - Sun Rise Over Fat Man's Misery

by Christian Williams
Fat Man's Misery is a grueling hike that leads to some of the more remote areas of East Zion. As I was hiking up into the cliffs, I stopped to watch the sun rise over the backside of Checkerboard Mesa.

Day 67: December 1, 2004 - Midmorning White Cliffs

by Christian Williams
Mid-morning in Zion is a wonderful time to photograph the canyon walls. The textures and patterns in the rock are vividly defined by sunlight which angles across the sky. This particular morning I was walking around the canyon which leads to "Fat Man's Misery", a hike into an often unexplored back country area of Zion.

by Christian Williams
After taking the previous photo I turned around and saw this group of trees on top of the Checkerboard Mesa glimmering with the sunlight behind them.

Day 42: November 6, 2004 - Three Peaks

by Christian Williams

I love Zion in the morning, and often choose to hike early in the day. This is one of my favorite areas to hike in Zion. This morning I was struck by the dramatic lines created by the bright sun cutting across the shadows.

Day 40: November 4, 2004 - Pink Skies

by Christian Williams

This day began with a vibrant pink sky, which cast a warm glow on the towering rocks of Zion.

Day 19: October 14, 2004 - Sunrise Silhouette

by Christian Williams

The Eastern part of Zion National Park is my preferred hiking area in Zion. Although there are plenty of tourists nearby, it's possible to be completely isolated from the crowds by hiking away from Highway 9.

This time of year, there were few people in the park, and even fewer in East Zion. I returned the area where I was the previous week in an attempt to capture the Bridge Mountain illuminated in sunlight and silhouetted by a ponderosa pine tree. It's not the most amazing photograph I took that day, but I enjoy it because of the amount of work it took to get the shot.

Day 12: October 7, 2004 - Bridge Mountain Sunrise

by Christian Williams

After spotting a herd of mountain sheep on the previous day, I returned to a similar location in Zion hoping to find the herd again. I hiked further up the next side canyon, and did not see any trace of the herd, but I was intrigued by the shadows spread at sunrise across the canyons of Zion. The canyons and Bridge Mountain (top left) emerge from the blackness below. I tried to position myself in a location to get a Ponderosa Pine tree to line-up directly in front of Bridge Mountain, but wasn't able to get in the right spot on this day.

Day 3: September 28, 2004 - Sun Beams in Pine Creek

by Christian Williams

Let There be Light

This photo was taken down by Pine Creek in the morning. The scene looked promising, but poorly lit, and I was struggling with the extreme range of light and dark. On a whim, I decided to increase the exposure by several stops and was surprised to see the dramatic rays of light illuminating the leaves of this Cottonwood tree from behind. It's interesting to see how the beams of light almost appear to be pushing back the darkness into shadows.

Day 2: September 27, 2004 - West Temple Smoky Sunrise

by Christian Williams

The fires of the previous day had subsided, but a smoky haze still lingered in the air the next morning. I drove along highway 89, looking for unpaved 4x4 trails that might provide an unfettered view of Zion. The above photograph is actually several images stitched together at 500mm with a telephoto lens.

by Christian Williams

Here is a wide shot from where I was standing in front of a barbed wire fence. The smoke filled sky gives the image a rather dark and ominous feel.

by Christian Williams

On the way back I stopped by Coral Pink Sand Dunes State park. While technically not part of Zion National Park, this area shares much of the same geology. It is a favorite place for 4-wheelers as you can tell from the tracks in the sand dunes.