I never met Galen Rowell, just like the 1000’s of other photographers he influenced never met him. I have all of his books, even his most obscure ones that I had to search out before the likes of Amazon made everything available at your fingertips. I learned the use of Fuji Velvia, and the art of the split neutral density filter from him. More importantly he inspired me to use my photography for something greater than profit. Every time I travelled up CA 395 I would stop in Bishop and visit his gallery to gain some inspiration from his work. But this time I learned that his gallery had closed. I stopped into Black Sheep for a cappuccino, and couldn’t help but feel morose. As I sipped my coffee, I glanced around at the young adventurers, artists, musicians, etc. You could feel Mr. Rowell’s influence everywhere you looked. There are few humans on this earth that live enough to have their presence transcend death. I finished my coffee and headed straight into the Sierra to carry his endowment forward.