Galen Rowell
Galen Rowell
Galen Avery Rowellwas a wilderness photographer and climber. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth23 August 1940
CountryUnited States of America
activities american-photographer directly involved mean mind natural observer rather
What I mean by photographing as a participant rather than observer is that I'm not only involved directly with some of the activities that I photograph, such as mountain climbing, but even when I'm not I have the philosophy that my mind and body are part of the natural world.
photography light firsts
My first thought is always of light.
photography thinking landscape
I think landscape photography in general is somewhat undervalued.
photography book mentor
My interest in photography did not begin with books or mentors, or with any burning desire to see the world through a camera. It evolved from an intense devotion to mountains and wilderness that eventually shaped all the parts of my life and brought them together.
photography light differences
When the light is right and everything is working for me, I feel as tense as when making a difficult maneuver high on a mountain. A minute - and sometimes mere seconds - can make the difference between a superb image and a mundane one.
powerful artist personality
The landscape is like being there with a powerful personality and I'm searching for just the right angles to make that portrait come across as meaningfully as possible.
writing artist giving
Today, I'm very careful not to mention very specific locations when I write or give captions.
climbing feelings too-late
We mountaineers always live with the feeling that we came on the scene too late.
reality mars nikon
Small, portable digital cameras that exceed the performance of an off-the-shelf Nikon using 35mm slide film are further away from current reality than the proposed NASA manned Mars mission, although I expect both to happen sometime during my lifetime.
photography environmental roles
There is no question that photography has played a major role in the environmental movement.
saws photographer
And most of my early pictures failed but about one in a 100 somehow looked better than what I saw.
photography cities two
Often when I walked alone in the mountains, I tried to make sense out of the two halves of my life. What went on in the city during the week seemed chaotic and unrelated to the events in my mountain world.
photography thinking people
A lot of people think that when you have grand scenery, such as you have in Yosemite, that photography must be easy.
passion climbing people
My advice for climbers or photographers is to really tune into your own passions and not just what other people are doing or aren't doing. Figure out what works for you, what turns you on, what gives you the greatest amount of energy and feeling of satisfaction.