Galen Avery Rowell (August 23, 1940 – August 11, 2002) was a noted wilderness photographer and climber. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972.

Rowell was introduced to wilderness at a very young age, and began climbing mountains at the age of ten. For the next fifty-two years, he climbed mountains and explored the wilderness. He began taking pictures on excursions into the wild so he could share his experiences with friends and family. After graduating from Berkeley High School, he stayed in Berkeley to study physics at the University of California but dropped out after four years to pursue his love of climbing. He was never formally trained as a photographer.

In 1972, Rowell sold his small automotive business and became a full-time photographer. Within a year, he had completed his first major assignment; a cover story for National Geographic. The cover story, originally initiated by an invitation from fellow photographer Dewitt Jones to help him on an assignment, came about when Jones was called away and Rowell suggested and made a Yosemite National Park ascent and documented it on his own. When National Geographic got the pictures, they decided to do a story separate from Jones' and thus Rowell got his start. He pioneered a new kind of photography in which he was not merely an observer, but rather he considered himself a participant in the scenes that he photographed — he considered the landscape part of the adventure, and the adventure part of the landscape. From 1968 on, he used 35mm Nikon cameras and lenses almost exclusively for their portability. His main media choice was slide film, beginning with Kodachrome in the 70's and 80's and Velvia following its introduction in 1990.

Rowell, his wife Barbara Cushman Rowell, pilot Tom Reid, and Reid's friend Carol McAffee, were killed in a plane crash near the Inyo County Airport in Bishop, California on the 11th of August, 2002. They were returning from a photography workshop in Alaska.