Galen Rowell: A Retrospective

One of my biggest influences in photography was Galen Rowell. I discovered his work through his books, and his style immediately caught me eye as unique. To be honest, I didn’t completely “get it” initially until I read his book, Galen Rowell’s Vision. In that book, he talks about how to see light and pre-visualize images before they actually happen, then going out and seeking the right conditions to make the images happen. “Participatory Photography” as he called it. Once I understood that, my life changed.

Now, four years after his tragic death in a plane crash, Sierra Club Books has released a biographical narrative / tribute in honor of Rowell with contributions from important figures in his life ranging from family, colleagues and celebrities. The images presented in this book are by far the finest reproductions that I’ve seen of his work. They did a great job at presenting his photographs along with well-written, insightful text on his life and achievements.

I would recommend Galen Rowell: A Retrospective to anyone with an interest in art, photography and the outdoors. Reading this coffee-table sized book gives great insight into how a man turned a passion for rock climbing into something much more meaningful over the course of a lifetime. One can see the evolution in Rowell’s photography and priorities throughout the course of the book. Galen Rowell eventually came to be a very influential photographer and dedicated environmental crusader. If you haven’t discovered Mr. Rowell's work yet, be forewarned, you might be tempted to quit your day job after reading this book.

For more information on the book and Galen Rowell, click this link

The Crossroads of America

I spent the Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis because I had a free ticket on Sunday to the 2006 NHRA U.S. Nationals. I went up early Saturday morning to go sightseeing since I had never been to the city before.



My first stop was the Indianapolis Zoo. It was a nice zoo with decent exhibits for the most part. It probably had the least amount of animals of any zoo I'd ever been to, but better than the Louisville Zoo in my opinion. The animals are closer to you than some other zoos. Particularly the tiger exhibit. I had never seen a tiger behind a fence from five feet away before. It definetely is not an animal I would like to encounter in a Thailand jungle, as exhilarating as that may sound.

I bought the combo admission ticket which allowed me into the White River Gardens which was nextdoor. It was a small garden, but had a decent amount of flowers. It was landscaped nicely to say the least. There were only small garden flowers at this time of year, but in another season it might be impressive.

I had dinner at the Circle Centre Mall in downtown. Downtown had a lot of foot traffic and seemed to be a hotspot for nightlife. The monument circle had a european feel to it. It was raining a little bit though so I didn't get to enjoy it that much. After that I walked around the state capitol and shot a few photos before leaving since I was paying by the hour to park. My complaint is that compared to other state capitol buildings, this one is crammed in a bunch of buildings downtown and doesn't really have any good vantage points to see it from ground level. I took this photo from the top of the 11 story parking garage across the street.



On Sunday, it took about 45 minutes to drive 2-3 miles from the freeway to the racetrack due to traffic. Across the street from O'Reilly Raceway Park, there was a group of campers set up for a "Wet T-Shirt Contest and Arm Wrestling Camp" Not sure what those two things have in common, but to each his own. I didn't stop in there since I only saw men lounging around. Perhaps they were having a wet wifebeater contest amongst themselves.

Once I got into the racetrack, I was amazed at how powerful the cars were. I wasn't even in the stadium and you feel them blowing by you. i got a pair of earplugs from the vendor. I don't know why some of the people there weren't wearing them. Hearing loss comes easier than people think. I was a musician for 15 years, so I would know a thing or two about hearing loss prevention.



After a few runs, I got bored so I walked around the mobile marketing units set up of which there were many. I managed to get into the corporate sponsors pit thinking I'd get some closer photos. The view was obstructed by pit crew though so I didn't get good photos in there. I did get blasted by burned rubber though. I ended up with black streaks of oil all over. Interesting, but once was enough for me so I left that area back towards the stands. It turned out that I was standing next to Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback, in the fenced off area, but didn't know it. A football fan asked me after I left gated area if I could get Manning's autograph for him, but I made up some excuse then left.

Another "celebrity" I saw at the racetrack was this NHRA driver named Erica Enders. I saw merchandise being sold all over the place so I figured she must be popular. She was cute so I don't blame the marketers. She was in her team booth signing a few autographs, but I just walked by. In hindsight I should have asked to take a few photos of her for my own entertainment. :-)

I left around 3:30 and headed back for Louisville.

*on a side note, the NHRA headquarters happens to be in my hometown of Glendora, California. I've seen a photographer with NHRA event credits that shares my name, Richard Wong. Weird stuff but it wouldn't be a first. I once sat behind a guy in college named Richard Wong too. Wong is probably the most common name on the planet, but I didn't realize that my first name was also that popular amongst asians. When I was a Cal Poly student, the school newspaper had a photographer named Richard Wong too I believe. I wonder if it was the same dude?*