From a letter dated March 12, 1975 to the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District from William M. Garland II:

"...it is my desire that a park be created out of my ranch so that its quality and character, particularly the beautiful mesa, the plane and oak tree covered areas, can be preserved in their natural state for the use and the enjoyment of the public in the future".

It is to this land in Carmel Valley that we photographers have now gone, to speak of our link with Bill Garland.

We missed much contact with him while he was alive, not out of choice, but because his interest in the Friends of Photography became known only shortly before his death. We knew that as a young man he came to vacation with his family on the Monterey Peninsula: to play on its beaches, to hike in its hills, to fish in the Carmel River. He grew to care most for its inland areas, and to feel at home in the the soft, quiet contours of Carmel Valley.

Bill Garland's plans to join Friends of Photography and to help personally in the support of creative photography were hardly realized while he lived. We of the Friends have tried to speak appreciatively of this support through our photographs. We may have missed knowing the man well, but in sharing the beauty of his land we sense his character and generosity.

To his family and friends, we can hope that the photographs in this portfolio speak of our regard for Bill Garland and for what he has left all of us on the Monterey Peninsula to cherish.

For the Friends of Photography:

Ansel Adams, Morley Baer, Peter Besag, Robert Byers,
Richard Garrod, Henry Gilpin, Al Weber, Brett Weston

Carmel, California, June 1976

Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District
June 2006