This past autumn was a productive time for me. Four fine print photographs have been added to the Eastern Sierra gallery, and I’ve added a new Southwest gallery with several new images as well. I hope you enjoy them! All of the new work was made with my Canham DLC 4x5 view camera on Fuji Velvia film.

Mountain Light Gallery is pleased to offer an expanded lineup of workshops with the best instructors in the business. All sessions now include upscale accommodation and all meals, with prorated fees available for those who wish to make their own lodging arrangements.

In Spring 2008, Mountain Light will host 3-Day Workshops with John Shaw and Justin Black. These workshops will be taught out of the Bishop gallery at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. Mountain Light will also host two 4-Day Workshops in Yosemite with Jack Dykinga and Larry Ulrich.

In Summer 2008, Mountain Light will host two 5-Day Workshops with David Muench, one in Sequoia & Kings Canyon and one in Lake Tahoe.

In Fall 2008, Mountain Light will host 3-Day Workshops with Justin Black, John Shaw and Brenda Tharp. These workshops will be taught out of the Bishop gallery at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. Mountain Light will also host two 5-Day Workshops with Jack Dykinga, one at Boulder Mountain, Utah and one at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.

Each workshop is limited to 15 participants to insure that everyone receives the time and attention needed. These workshops are expected to fill up quickly, please contact Mountain Light promptly to reserve your space. For more information or to register, call (760) 873-7700 or click here.

New book available now from Mountain Light Photography! In stores October, 2006!

Having served as an essayist, consulting editor, photo editor, and digital pre-press supervisor on this beautiful book, Justin is very proud of the result of this collaboration with the editors and publishers of Sierra Club Books.

Among Justin Black’s most important mentors and influences was archetypal adventure and landscape photographer Galen Rowell, whose iconic images were published in leading magazines and scores of books, exhibited in major galleries, and cherished by fans ranging from the Dalai Lama to news anchor Tom Brokaw. When he and his wife and business partner, Barbara Cushman Rowell, perished in a small plane crash in 2002, he had just completed a landmark assignment for National Geographic and had begun making stunning new images of his favorite old haunts in the Sierra Nevada.

Fortunately for us, his productivity was immense and his photographs meticulously archived, making possible this first and only comprehensive retrospective of his work. Rowell himself had no time for looking back: his creative energies went into books that combine his images and writings on a wide range of subjects including, climbing and expeditionary feats; exotic cultures; endangered wildlife and places; celebrations of light, color, and rare natural phenomena; and visionary interpretations of landscape.

All are magnificently on view in this retrospective, which includes almost 200 images representing all phases and dimensions of Rowell’s singular career, chosen by the editors with whom he worked most closely, overseen by his family and studio colleagues, and reproduced to the highest standards of lithography from digital masters of his 35mm frames. Complementing and illuminating the pictures are essays and commentaries by Rowell’s friends and associates, including Justin Black, from the worlds of mountaineering, conservation, photography, and publishing, along with a foreword by Tom Brokaw, an in-depth biographical introduction by Robert Roper and an appreciation of his work by photography critic Andy Grundberg.

For more information, please visit the Mountain Light Book Store.

Photo © 2008 Tony Rowell

On June 16, a team of climbers supporting the Rowell Fund for Tibet summitted Mount Whitney (14,496 ft.) via the snow covered and physically challenging Mountaineer’s Route. Five donor / climbers and two climbers sponsored by anonymous donors raised $38,000 for the Rowell Fund, which was established to encourage and support the work of Tibetans in the language and visual arts who can make significant contributions to Tibetan culture and society. The team was accompanied by renowned climbers Conrad Anker and Peter Croft, Justin Black, John Ackerly, President of the International Campaign for Tibet, and Tony Rowell, Galen’s son. Excellent guiding services were provided by “S.P.” Parker of Sierra Mountain Center.

Photo © 2008 Tony Rowell

Another team, named Team Highpoint by leader John Jancik of Colorado, hiked the grueling main Mt. Whitney Trail to the summit, arriving just as the Mountaineer’s Route team topped out on the North Face. Starting with Mt. Whitney, Team Highpoint is committed to reach the highest point in each of the fifty United States within one calendar year. Their effort, called 50 for Tibet, is also a fundraiser for the Rowell Fund for Tibet, and to date Team Highpoint has received pledges of over $100,000 if they complete their mission, culminating on Alaska’s Denali in May 2007.

For more information or to make a donation or pledge, please click here.

From September 1 to September 30, 2005, the Rowell Fund for Tibet will be accepting applications for funding from Tibetans who can make significant contributions to society. The Fund seeks to support environmental, cultural, and women’s projects as well as journalism, photography, film making, oral histories, and other communication arts.

During its first year, the Rowell Fund granted $37,240 to twelve projects, and $49,476 in its second year to eleven projects.

Galen Rowell was the Co-chair of ICT’s Board of Advisors and a longtime friend of Tibet. Together, Galen and Barbara Cushman Rowell produced the book, My Tibet, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and introduced Tibet to countless people around the world. Through photographs and writing, they documented and brought attention to Tibet’s threatened ecosystem and culture. Following the deaths of Galen and Barbara Rowell in August 2002, ICT’s Board of Directors and close friends and family of the Rowells established a fund to carry on their legacy in the Tibetan community.

Funds are raised each year specifically for this fund by ICT in conjunction with the Rowell Fund Board of Advisors. This year, four of the advisors, David Breashears, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and John Ackerly are leading a benefit climb of the Grand Teton (13,770 ft.) in Wyoming with a group of eleven people. The climb will raise $60,000 for the fund. Other advisors are Justin Black, Bob and Beth Cushman, John Jancik and Terri Baker, Bob Palais, Tony Rowell, and Ray and Nicole Rowell Ryan.

Applications should include a cover letter, 3-5 page description of the project, a budget, and two references. Maximum Rowell Fund grants are $5,000. Final grant selection is carried out by the Board of Advisors in November, and grant funds are distributed in December.

For more details on the Fund and how to apply, click here.

International Campaign For Tibet
1825 Jefferson Place, NW • Washington, DC 20036
202-785-1515 • Fax: 202-785-4343 •

A panel discussion on the state of the outdoor photo industry was held at the Summer Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in Salt Lake City, Wyndham Hotel next to the Salt Palace on Friday, August 13, 7pm.

Open to commercial and editorial photographers and photo buyers and brought to you by Travel EP, ASMP, KODAK and Pictureline, panelists included photographers Justin Black, Michael Clark and Cameron Lawson. Editorial: Jeff Achey, Climbing Magazine; Chris Thompson, Hooked on the Outdoors; Rob Haggart, Outside Magazine. Commercial: Jane Sievert, Patagonia; Jason Cox, Eagle Creek; Katie King, Cloudveil. Moderator: Mark Kroese.

The fine landscape photographs of Justin Carder Black and the social commentary paintings of Joanna Salska were featured at a special one-month exhibit from November 1st through 30th at 1862 Euclid St. in Berkeley, CA, across Hearst from the North Gate of the UC Berkeley Campus. The show benefitted the Swiftbird Oyate Center, a grass-roots community empowerment organization of the Swiftbird District on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.