Los Angeles ? Friends and admirers lined up at the gallery of nature photographers Galen and Barbara Rowell to express grief over their deaths in a plane crash.

The Rowells, whose works were published in National Geographic and several books, were passengers in a charter plane that crashed Sunday in the eastern Sierra Nevada while they were returning home from a photo workshop.

Prominent nature photographer Galen Rowell is shown at Mono Lake, Calif., in this 1987 file photo. Galen and Barbara Rowell were killed along with two other people in a charter plane crash early Sunday in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Barbara Rowell was also a photographer, and was president of Mountain Light Photography, the couple's photo agency.

Pilot Tom Reid and passenger Carol McAfee were also killed in the crash of the twin-prop plane.

Before becoming a nature photographer, Galen Rowell owned a high-performance auto repair shop in Berkeley in the 1960s. He wrote his first story for National Geographic in June 1974, said Kent Kobersteen, director of photography for National Geographic.

“It’s one thing to take a pretty picture, but he was able to bring back pictures that gave you a feel for the land, a feel for the expedition,” Kobersteen said. “They communicated emotionally and verbally.”

Rowell was also the author of 18 books of photography, and his pictures appeared in such magazines as Audubon, Outdoor Photographer and Sports Illustrated. He also worked for National Geographic’s travel magazine and books, and contributed regularly to Outside Magazine since it was established in the late 1970s. He was a world-class climber.

Barbara Rowell, 54, was a photographer, pilot and former director of public relations for The North Face Inc., the outdoor clothing company. She was president of Mountain Light Photography, the couple’s photo agency, gallery and press, where sales were halted Monday.

The couple moved 18 months ago to Bishop, about 250 miles north of Los Angeles, bringing the gallery with them.

“They were coming back from a photo workshop in the Arctic,” said Kevin Calder, an employee at the gallery.

In an interview with The Associated Press in 1987, Galen Rowell said that as a photographer he always looked for “the fleeting happening. The unrepeatable moment.”

Some of his most famous images are of the Sierra Nevada. His latest project was an update of naturalist John Muir’s classic, “The Yosemite.” Barbara Rowell’s book, “Flying South: A Pilot’s Inner Journey,” is scheduled to be published in October.