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Behind the Book with Rick Steil
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Palisades Charter High School
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Rick Steil
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When the Palisades Fire swept through Los Angeles in January 2025, photography teacher and yearbook advisor Rick Steil lost his home—and nearly lost something else, too: 60 years of Palisades High yearbooks.
But instead of letting that history disappear, he worked with Blurb Large Order Services to bring the entire archive back to life.
In this interview, Steil reflects on his journey from international fashion photographer to beloved teacher, the emotional process of rebuilding the archive, and why printed books still matter.
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The Palisades fires struck you and Pali
High really hard. Tell us how this project
came about.
“It was really difficult—for my wife, for all of us.
It probably took six weeks to even come out of the fog and go, okay, we still have to keep moving forward.”
“Then one of my sons said, ‘How am I going to get my yearbooks back?’ And I was like, oh. I hadn't even thought about that. All these people lost all their yearbooks.”
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“I'd already done a book through Blurb. The Booster Club had asked me to
do a 100-copy book of the best photos from my classroom.
It's a beautiful book, and they use it as a fundraiser. That's when I met Dylan in Blurb's Large Order Services department. He really helped navigate me through it, and I enjoyed working with him. So when the yearbook idea hit, he was the first call I made.”
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Format: Standard Portrait, Hardcover ImageWrap
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Blurb Large Order Services
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Helping meaningful projects
reach print
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This project was produced with the help
of Large Order Services, which includes custom pricing and dedicated support
from start to finish.
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Palisades Charter High School Yearbooks, 1963 to 2025
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