Remembering Galen Rowell

Impact And Inspiration

My life changed on a Saturday afternoon in the late 1990s. While visiting the Carnegie Museum Of Natural History in Pittsburgh, I noticed a sign announcing a photography exhibition. I recognized the name of the photographer, Galen Rowell. I had read articles about him, but I had never seen prints of his work in person. It was an experience that I'll never forget.

I had never seen photographs like this before. The compositions were wonderful, but it was the color, the detail, and the creamy smoothness of the prints that struck me most powerfully.

I remember feeling puzzled, even bewildered. What I was seeing seemed beyond the capability of what a camera could produce. It was as though I had witnessed a magic trick that made me question things that I thought the I understood.

I came away from the exhibition with a strange fascination. I didn't just want to understand how he captured photos that looked like this, I wanted to be able to product images with a similar look. It became an obsession, albeit one with a positive purpose. My fascination kicked off a decades long journey of discovery.

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Galen Rowell was a skilled climber and mountaineer who traveled the world photographing remote places for National Geographic. He climbed Everest and El Capitan. He photographed Nepal and Machu Picchu.

I didn't spend much time in wilderness areas. I lived in a heavily populated area and commuted into a large city for work every day.

Nevertheless, I believed that if I could study and learn Mr. Rowell's style of photography, with its brilliant colors, dramatic skies, and awe-inspiring light, I could adapt that style for use in urban areas. Sunsets happen everywhere; we don't have to venture into the wilderness to see one.

Sadly, Galen Rowell and his wife died in a plane crash on August 11, 2002, twenty years ago today. I am now the age that Galen was when he passed away.

I never had the chance to meet Galen Rowell or attend one of his workshops (which were always sold out!) but his creative vision, his artistry, and his masterful craftsmanship have inspired me since the day I first saw his prints.

Camera:    Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens:        GF 45mm f/2.8

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Copyright © 2022 Daniel R. South
http://www.dansouthphoto.com
www.instagram.com/dansouthphoto

All Rights Reserved

Sunset On The Reservoir

Reflections On The Day

Sunset On The Reservoir - Central Park (2022)

Summer sunset captured from the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park.

Camera:    Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens:        GF 80mm f/1.7

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Copyright © 2022 Daniel R. South
http://www.dansouthphoto.com
www.instagram.com/dansouthphoto

All Rights Reserved

Photo Of The Year - Jersey City Sunset in Black and White

You Never Know

I wanted to take a photo of the sun setting behind these buildings in Jersey City, New Jersey (arguably not the most remarkable subject). But is was cloudy, and the colors weren't all that spectacular. - I don't even remember whether I had my tripod with me that day; I might have steadied the camera on a railing.

Photo Of The Year - Jersey City Sunset in Black and White

Anyway, in a last ditch effort to salvage the image, I converted it to black and white. I didn't think that it looked very impressive, but it had a dark mood that I thought some people might like. The result, which you see here, quickly became my most popular photo EVER on Instagram.

You never know what people will respond to.


Happy New Year! Wishing you good fortune and boundless blessings in 2020!

Daniel


Camera: Sony a7R IV
Lens:     Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.


Copyright © 2019 Daniel R. South
http://www.dansouthphoto.com
All Rights Reserved

California Lupines On Film

A Trip Down Memory Lane

This is one of my favorite images from the last excursion that I photographed primarily with film. 

It took a while to find an undisturbed cluster of flowers. Small animals had been burrowing in the area, and most of the flowers were marred by ugly piles of loose dirt. 

It was nearly dark by the time that I found this spot. I remember setting up my tripod and squatting close to the ground. I remember trying not to damage the flowers around me with my feet or my equipment bags.

I remember working to focus the large mechanical camera on an increasingly dim image, holding my breath as long as I could under the dark cloth so I wouldn't fog the ground glass. I remember checking everything twice before exposing a sheet of film that I had loaded carefully by hand. Was the aperture closed to the desired stop? Were my exposure calculations correct? Had I set the tilt accurately to keep the foreground and background in focus? Were all of the knobs locked securely? Had I bumped the image out of focus at any time?

I cocked the shutter, pulled the dark slide, and hoped that I hadn't overlooked anything.

California Lupines at Sunset - Velvia 100 Color Reversal Sheet Film (4x5)

I love digital cameras. They make photography so much easier with instant feedback and a whole host of convenient features. 

But capturing an image like this on film, doing so many things accurately under such challenging conditions and not being able to see the result until days or weeks later, that was an unparalleled experience - when it actually worked.

Will I shoot film again? Probably not, or at least not very frequently. Most of the color labs have closed down. It's difficult to find someone to develop these amazing chromes. Professional scans are expensive. It's far more economical to capture the image directly in digital format.

I miss film. I miss the look. I miss the tactile experience of working with it and the fun of using those classic camera designs. I even miss the hassles of film, like trying to keep it cool in the summer and explaining to the TSA kid at the airport why he can't open the box for inspection. 

Giving up on film was like losing a friend. A very close friend. But the economy and convenience of digital imaging is overwhelming. Welcome to the future.

Camera: Ebony SV45-TE

Lens:     Schneider 110mm f/5.6 Super-Symmar XL

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Copyright © 2015 Daniel R. South

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

All Rights Reserved

Pacific Sunset

Catching Light As It Happens

Light really does happen, and sometimes it happens in majestic fashion. Get up out of bed and arrive at the scene in time, and you might just capture something spectacular.

Pacific Sunset

Happy Easter, everyone!


Camera: Nikon D810
Lens:     Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.


Copyright © 2015 Daniel R. South
http://www.dansouthphoto.com
All Rights Reserved