Galen Rowell

I knew Galen Rowell for a little over 20 years and for 16 of those, we worked closely together when I was either Marketing Director or Publisher of Sierra Club Books. Sierra Club published 8 acclaimed books of Galen's photography. For those who don't know his work, he was the preeminent outdoor photographer of the late 20th Century and, it is said, the successor to Ansel Adams. He was an outstanding mountaineer and accomplished 100 first ascents in his twenties. These skills could bring him closer to his subjects. Often closer than other photographers would dare.

His vibrant life was cut short by a tragic plane crash in his beloved Eastern Sierra. Although he died 7 years ago, its still hard for me to believe he's dead. The last book he published when he was alive, was a hardcover that we did together, a small gift book, called California the Beautiful.

I was responsible for initiating the project and I also compiled the text, consisting of quotations and verse from California writers and visitors, to accompany Galen's super-real color photography. The core concept we developed was "California: Spirit and Place". This was a vision of California as "America's America", imbued with a unique spirit, portrayed in word and image, at once actual and symbolic. Galen saw advance copies about two weeks before his death and he was happy with the way his photographs were displayed.

On October 20, 2009 Welcome Books is releasing a new edition of California the Beautiful, in a larger size and featuring a new foreword by Dan Jacobson, Environment California and 100 color photographs of Galen's. Look for it.