Galen Rowell

The unique artistic vision of Galen Rowell, one of the world's greatest photographers, is presented in these spectacular landscapes. "The viewer's first reaction to these photographs is awe--they are sheer magic".--Publishers Weekly. 80 color photos.

"Photographs as timeless, as stunning, and as powerful as nature itself."--Tom Brokaw

Presents a comprehensive retrospective of the work of nature photographer Galen Rowell, including images of such subjects as climbing, expeditionary feats, exotic cultures, endangered wildlife, and rare natural phenomena.

In sixty essays based on his column in Outdoor Photography, Rowell reveals the inner workings of the art, business, and life style of outdoor photography.

This is photojournalist Galen Rowell's acclaimed portrait of the mountain lands of China and Tibet -- a realm the Chinese call the "middle kingdom" between earth and sky, higher and more remote than anywhere else on earth. Rowell's text sets his own adventures in this exotic region against a rich historical and cultural background, recreating the exploits of and describing the dramatic changes that recent years have wrought on Chinese life and society. From the palaces of Lhasa to the pristine strongholds of the snow leopard, the 85 splendid color photographs and compelling narrative map a geography that stretches the bounds of imagination. "From the Trade Paperback edition.

The twentieth century’s most celebrated adventure photographer, Galen Rowell, spent much of his life roaming the world with his camera, chronicling exotic locales on all seven continents. Yet he always returned to the land where he started out, both as an adventurer and a photographer: California’s Sierra Nevada. Indeed, in the two years before his death in a 2002 plane crash, Rowell became increasingly focused on photographing the "Range of Light,” producing some of the strongest images of his career. Now the best of his lifetime’s work in his "favorite place on earth” is gathered in this magnificent book, reproduced to the highest standards from digital masters of his 35mm frames. From the lofty cliffs and lush alpine meadows of Yosemite to the stark high desert of the Owens Valley, from the jagged High Sierra crest to the soft contours of the Eastside’s Buttermilk Hills, Rowell captured the Sierra Nevada in his signature "dynamic landscapes,” which combined an artist’s vision, an adventurer’s total access, and a peerless knowledge of optical phenomena in high and wild places. An introduction by Robert Roper traces Rowell's deep roots in the Sierra--a mountain realm he saw in ways no one else has, before or since.

Soul of the Heights is the story of a pioneering climber with a passion for, and lifetime dedication to, the majestic mountains of North America. First conquering the awesome faces and peaks--many of them previously unclimbed--then photographing them with an intimate eye, Ed Cooper has maintained this love affair with the mountains for more than fifty years. His unique story evokes the now-legendary early days of mountaineering and includes exclusive first-hand accounts by climbers of that era about many of the first ascents of new routes that have since become top destinations for new generations of climbers. These historic ascents include routes in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State; the "Chief," near Squamish, British Columbia; the Bugaboos, also in B.C.; and El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California. These ascents were all achieved in the 1950s and early '60s at a time when climbing standards were rising dramatically. Fascinated by the challenge of the heights, Ed Cooper became the first "climbing bum" in the Pacific Northwest, where he rapidly acquired a reputation as one of the most important all-around climbers of his generation. This book provides rare insight into the world of mountaineering and rock climbing during that era, revealing the intensely competitive nature of the sport at a time when so many opportunities were available for carving a place in climbing history as the first to complete a new challenge. The young climber's evolving quest to photograph the essence of the mountains he held in such awe resulted in a series of spectacular portraits of many of the best-known peaks of North America. These images provide the visual drama in Ed Cooper's story, which also contains many historically interesting photographs of early climbs, and of such noted mountain personalities as Norman Clyde, Warren Harding, and Galen Rowell.

Nestled among the cities and suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area is the most extensive system of wild greenbelts in the nation. Renowned adventurer and wilderness photographer Galen Rowell has created the ultimate tribute to the place where he was born and raised. His lyrical text, combined with 173 spectacular color photographs, presents a unique view of the Bay Area.