World-renowned wilderness photographer and writer Galen Rowell, and his wife
and business partner Barbara Cushman Rowell, a photographer and writer in her
own right, died early Sunday morning in an airplane crash outside of Bishop,
Calif.
The Rowells, who were returning to their Bishop home from a circumnavigation
of the Bering Sea, were passengers in a small privately owned plane that went
down south of the Bishop Airport. The cause of the crash remains under
investigation by NTSB and FAA officials.
The plane carried four people and there were no survivors. Tom Reid of
Bishop piloted the plane. The fourth passenger was Carol McAfee, also of
Bishop.
Galen is survived by two children from a previous marriage, Nicole Ryan and
"Tony" Edward Anthony Rowell, and two grandsons, Forrest Avery Ryan
and Colby Dustin Ryan.
Barbara is survived by her mother Lucile Cushman, brother Robert Cushman,
and nieces Mariah and Grace Cushman.
Born Aug. 23, 1940 in Berkeley, Calif., to a college professor and a concert
cellist, Galen was introduced to wilderness before he could walk. He began
climbing mountains at the age of 10 and by age 60 he had completed more than 40
expeditions on all seven continents and to both poles. He has produced 18 books
of photos and text that exemplify his special brand of participatory wilderness
photography in which the photographer transcends being an observer with a
camera to become an active participant in the image being photographed.
In 1984 he received the Ansel Adams Award for his contributions to the art
of wilderness photography. Since 1986, he has written a popular monthly column
for Outdoor Photographer Magazine and in 1992 he received a National
Science Foundation Artists and Writers Grant to photograph Antarctica.
Barbara Rowell was the president of Mountain Light Photography, a photo
agency, gallery and small press co-owned with Galen. Barbara piloted a Cessna
T206 and had recently completed her first book Flying South: A Pilot's Inner
Journey, scheduled to be released in October of 2002. Her photographs have
been published in National Geographic, Outside, Plane & Pilot, and
in many books, calendars, and travel publications.
Barbara was born Jan. 29, 1948 in Hawaii to Lucile and Irving Cushman while
her father was stationed in the Navy at Pearl Harbor. At the age of five, her
family was transferred to Texas for a brief stay in Kingsville before settling
in California. After moving to Aspen to design ski wear, she returned to
California to complete her studies in Textiles and Business, and graduated in
1978 from the University of California at Davis with Highest Honors.
Barbara and Galen were married in 1981 and together built Mountain Light Photography
into a successful gallery and stock photography business that recently
relocated from the Bay Area to their new home of Bishop in the Eastern Sierra.
Barbara and Galen traveled to many exotic locations, including to a National
Geographic assignment in Pakistan to cover the highest war in history where
they were flown throughout the Himalaya as guests of President Zia. They have
also been the guests of the Dalai Lama, and served as guides to Robert Redford
on a trek through Nepal.
They touched many lives around the world, and they will be sorely missed.
Services for the couple are pending. Please check the Mountain Light Gallery
website for more extensive biographies, and further information as it becomes
available: http://www.mountainlight.com.
Press seeking bio photos should contact the Mountain Light Stock Dept.
(760)-873-7700