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 the 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 in 1958, 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 Magazine. The 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 a Yosemite National Park ascent that he documented on his own. When National Geographic got the pictures, they decided to do a story separate from Jones's and thus Rowell got his start. He pioneered a new kind of photography in which he was not merely an observer, but 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.

Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (b. 129 AD, d. circa 200 AD), better known as Galen of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey), was a prominent Roman (of Greek ethnicity) physician, surgeon and philosopher. Arguably the most accomplished of all medical researchers of antiquity, Galen contributed greatly to the understanding of numerous scientific disciplines, including anatomy,physiology, pathology,pharmacology, and neurology, as well as philosophy and logic.

The son of Aelius Nicon, a wealthy architect with scholarly interests, Galen received a comprehensive education that prepared him for a successful career as a physician and philosopher. He traveled extensively, exposing himself to a wide variety of medical theories and discoveries before settling in Rome, where he served prominent members of Roman society and eventually was given the position of personal physician to several emperors.

Rick Ridgeway (born August 12, 1949) is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker,^{[citation needed]} author, photographer and environmentalist, of outdoor adventure related projects from Ojai, California. Ridgeway has achieved many adventures in his life including being a member of the first American team to summit K2. His international reputation as one of the world’s foremost mountaineers and adventurers prompted Rolling Stone magazine to call him “the real Indiana Jones.^{[citation needed]} Ridgeway has also been honored with National Geographic’s “Lifetime Achievement in Adventure” award.^{[citation needed]}

Ridgeway is active in many environmental issues and sustainability initiatives including the "Freedom to Roam" initiative, which he started as an effort to create wildlife corridors so many of the planet's animals can move around in their ancient migration patterns that have been cut off due to human development. "If they can't do that(roam),"Ridgeway said, "many of them aren't going to make it through to the next century."