Shot on location in Utah, USA, West transcends mere wildlife photography to become a profound reflection on resilience & identity through a unique style of contemporary portraiture. With wingspans stretching up to eight feet and the ability to dive at speeds over 100 miles per hour, the Bald Eagle is built for awe. It’s a creature of immense physical power—razor-sharp talons, bone-crushing grip, and a flight style that feels like controlled violence. West’s images don’t just allude to this strength—they trap it in stillness, forcing us to sit with what we usually only glimpse in motion.

In Bald Eagle #1, West delivers an arresting, almost surreal confrontation. Centered in the frame with an eerie stillness, the eagle looms like a totem carved from shadow—its form stripped to essence, its presence entirely spiritual. Bathed in subdued light and rich monochrome tones, the eagle’s gaze cuts through with haunting clarity. Unblinking, unwavering- its eyes confront the viewer with a silent, almost primeval authority.

Bald Eagle #2 offers a portrait of quiet dominion—less a display of power, more an embodiment of grace under weight. The eagle turns its head in profile, dignified and statuesque, as though sensing something just beyond the frame. Its stance is poised, alert, yet unthreatened—an apex presence that doesn’t need to prove itself because it whispers legacy. In Native American cultures, the eagle’s feathers are sacred, gifted only in moments of great honor, symbolizing clarity, connection to the Creator, and the endurance of truth. West taps into this deeper well of meaning, stripping away the myth of the majestic to reveal something more enduring: the spiritual.

To everyday Americans, the Bald Eagle represents far more than a majestic bird of prey — it’s a living emblem of the nation's spirit. With its soaring flight and piercing gaze, it evokes ideals of freedom, resilience, and power. As the national bird and a symbol enshrined on everything from military insignia to the Great Seal, the eagle stands for patriotism, honor, and the enduring beauty of the American landscape. Its recovery from the brink of extinction mirrors the country’s belief in second chances and strength through adversity.

West’s signature reductionist aesthetic is on full display: symmetry, negative space, and silence dominate the frame. The image carries no environmental context, no distractions—only the subject, suspended in a void, as if caught between this world and the next. What remains is pure presence.