190: Gary Crabbe - The Legacy of Galen Rowell in Landscape Photography

Welcome to episode 190 of the F-Stop Collaborate and Listen podcast. 

This week on the podcast, I was joined by a landscape photographer who has been in the game for quite a long time. Gary Crabbe found himself welcomed into the landscape photography world by surprise when he decided to quit his job as a breakfast cook and work for Galen Rowell as his photo library curator.

What ensued was an unexpected life-long journey as a landscape photographer. Gary is an award-winning photographer and author living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has seven published books to his credit as principal photographer, the last two of which he also authored. His most recent book, Photographing California; Vol. 1 – North, won the prestigious IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal Award for Best Regional Title.In 2018, the United States Postal Service released seven of Gary’s photos – a nearly unprecedented number for an individual photographer -- as USPS Forever Postage Stamps. These photos are now immortalized as part of the USPS O Beautiful collection, a 20-image set of stamps celebrating the hymn, America the Beautiful.

Gary and myself discuss some interesting topics this week, including:

• Gary's journey into photography,
• What it was like to work with Galen Rowell,
• The realities of making it as a professional photographer,
• Image licensing,
• Photo selection and portfolio development,
• Competitiveness in landscape photography,
• And much, much more.

Over on Patreon this week, Gary and I discuss his challenges with mental health - a topic that has been getting a lot of attention lately in light of COVID. Stick around to the end of the show where I will be announcing a nice giveaway for listeners. 

Here are the photographers that Gary recommended on the podcast:

1. Richard Wong.

2. David Leland Hyde.

3. Phillip Hyde.

4. Michael Gordon.

5. Robert Glenn Ketchum.

6. Frans Lanting.

7. Suzi Eszterhas.

8. Nevada Wier.

Other items mentioned on the show:

1. Private 1:1 landscape photography workshops.

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Thanks for stopping in, collaborating with us, and listening. See you next week.

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