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, California.

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 Edward Anthony "Tony" 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 August 23, 1940, in Berkeley, California, to a college professor and a concert cellist, Galen was introduced to the 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 , scheduled to be released in October 2002. Her photographs have been published in National Geographic, Outside, Plane & Pilot, and in many books, calendars, and travel publications.

Barbara was born January 29, 1948, in Hawaii to Lucile and Irving Cushman while her father was stationed in the Navy at Pearl Harbor. At the age of 5, 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 Pakistan, on a National Geographic assignment 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.

— Courtesy, Mountain Light Gallery