2010- Not your average year in Zion.

A waterfall shot from today as the sun began to break and clouds lifted up. A ranger told me today this is the most water he has seen in Zion since 15 years working here!

 

 So far out of the four years I've called Zion Canyon my home, this is the most leaves I've seen left on these trees with this much snow.

 

 This shot, taken in November shows cottonwoods peaking along the Virgin River with freshly fallen snow. Not a common scene here in the canyon.

Water and Light

This was a challenging shot to take. It was composed beneath my umbrella crouched down low in a sandstone cave while water was splattering all over from above. I fired off a few shots while wiping the water off the front of my lens between each shot. I used an ISO of 400 to shorten the shutter speed so water spots would be less likely to ruin the image. Exposure- 11 seconds at f27- Taken with my Hasselblad H4D and 35-90mm HCD lens.

David J. West Winter Gallery Party

Sorry for the late reminder... but we are having a gallery party this Sunday December 12 at 4 to 8 pm!
Our address is 801 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale, UT 84767.  We are also excited because we will be
having live music from 6-7pm by Victoria Lagerstrom and Dave Tate.
Their website is http://www.thehousesofhealing.net.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We will be releasing two new photographs...

 Home Away From Home

Wasatch Mountains, Utah

Mystery Waterfall

Zion National Park, Utah

4 day workshops planned

I am excited about the upcoming 4 day workshops I have planned for the
Spring and Autumn in Zion National Park.

Spring   May 10-13, 2011  $925

Autumn Nov 3-6, 2011   $925

Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1 Meet and Greet, go out for sunset photoshoot.
Day 2 Sunrise photoshoot, afternoon classroom instruction and critique, evening photoshoot.
Day 3 Sunrise photoshoot, afternoon classroom instruction and critique, evening photoshoot.
Day 4 Sunrise photoshoot.

To sign up click here or go to my website www.davidjwest.com and go to my workshops.

Goodbye Mom

Autumn has left and winter has arrived here in Zion Canyon. This past month  has been a hectic one for my family and I, being that my mother passed away on November 13th. I recently returned from New Jersey after mourning her loss with my family and friends. MJ, Arielle, and I spent half of November with my mom during some of her last days. She was 61, nothing puts life back into perspective like funerals and the loss of a loved one. My mom was a simple and strong woman, her life was all about her 5 children and 3 grandchildren and taking care of my Father who has been paralyzed for the past seven years. Lately, I've been seeing her smile at me through the freshly fallen snow and color in the morning and evening skies.

                                                                      

Sunday, December 12 we will be having a Gallery Party between the hours of 4-8pm. Please join us for good company and beautiful art. I will be releasing 2 new images. As winter settles in we would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy Holiday Season.

Kindest regards from Zion Canyon, David, MJ, Arielle, and of course Charlie Brown.

                                                                 

Highly Honored Natures Best Photography Magazine

From over 20000 images entered, "Morning Has Broken" was chosen to be one of only several highly honored images in the Landscape category and will be published in the latest edition of Nature's Best Photography Magazine.

 Mt. Timpanogos wilderness area located in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, is one of my favorite places to photograph wildflowers. This particular morning while camping with MJ and Charlie we awoke to what I thought was going to be a boring sky. Thankfully I was wrong, and surprised when the clouds began to glow with color.

Home Away from Home

I must admit, I love calling the red rocks of Zion Canyon my home year round, but also feel at home wandering through the mountains in forests full of aspens, pine, and maple trees. I recently visited Northern Utah's Wasatch Mountains and found some beautiful scenes unfolding before my eyes.  One of my favorites from the trip is this shot of Maple Mountain with its peaks lit up at sunrise.  I captured it with my Hasselblad H4D and HCD35-90mm lens. I also used a Lee .9 soft graduated neutral density filter to hold back the highlights from blowing out in the sky.