Mountain Light

No photographer was more deeply engaged with the transformative interaction of light and landscape than Galen Rowell. The preeminent outdoor photographer of his time, he spent his career chasing magic light in the high places of the planet. Into this landmark volume he poured all his insights gleaned from those adventures, assembling galleries of his most memorable images to illustrate them.

The photographs are arranged in eight exhibits according to the many qualities of light found in mountain environments. Rowell also shares the stories that went into their creation—what he was after and how he achieved it, from preparation and “previsualizing” to the physical challenges of being in the right place at exactly the right time. In addition to explaining how he worked with optical phenomena and natural light, the book traces his development as a photographer—in terms of both philosophy and technique—and recounts his adventures in some of the most remote, dangerous, and beautiful places on Earth.

A generation of photographers has learned from the experience, craft, and vision that Rowell passed on in this book, as will future generations. And all who respond to dynamic outdoor imagery will continue to marvel at his achievements. The acclaimed landscape photographer David Muench contributes an illuminating foreword to this new edition.