Galen Rowell August 23rd, 1940 - August 11th, 2002
Galen Rowell is an American photographer who was born in Berkeley, California. As he grew older, he was introduced to nature and climbing, and he took photos of what he saw while climbing. In 1973, he had done a cover for National Geographic Magazine and become a full time photographer. In 1986, he published his first book, Mountain Light: In Search For The Dynamic Landscape. He visited 12 different mountain ranges towards the end of his life to get more pictures.
Galen Rowell’s style reminds me of Bob Ross’s paintings. Ross’s paintings are all of very serene areas, such as mountains, and most of Rowell’s works are also mountains. Obviously there is a difference between paintings and photography, but the two artists are very similar with their styles. Galen Rowell often takes advantage of the horizon line in his images, which is a big aspect of his style. A lot of his pictures also seem to use the shadows that are in the image to add emphasis on the surrounding area.
Galen Rowell’s major ideas were that he wanted the world to see these beautiful places that he got to travel, even if they are unable to travel there themselves. In all of his photography, he is trying to show the beauty in the landscapes, and he definitely succeeds. Nature was a large part of Rowell’s life, so he appreciated it a lot. He wanted to share his love of nature with the world, and he did that through his amazing landscape photography.
Galen Rowell influenced me to take advantage of the horizon line. He has also influenced me to take shots that have shadows in them. Unfortunately, I don’t live by a mountain range, though, so I didn’t take as exotic pictures as he did. My pictures use his style of taking advantage of the horizon. He also splits up his images into thirds using the horizon line, it seems, and I also did that with my landscape images.
Galen Rowell’s North Lake and my Pool Side pictures are the two that are the most the same. Both images use the horizon line, and both have a bright blue sky. Pool Side does not have the orange colors that North Lake has. Both images use the water to reflect the landscape around it. My picture Lake Side Assistance and his Mountain Light Photography are also similar. Both images reflect the surrounding area and take advantage of the horizon line, but his uses the pinks in the sky, while mine use the blues in the sky.
I took my images 2 weeks ago by the Huron River with a few of my friends. The river was beautiful that day. We saw a bunch of grasshoppers and birds, and it was peaceful. For a while, we sat by the river eating a baguette, relaxing, since that would be the last time we would be able to relax outside for quite a while. Unfortunately, we had to go home. The picture Patchy was taken close to my friend’s house on the way back.