Photographer Ken Harmon began practicing his craft in 1981. While his tools and expertise have evolved tremendously since then, his “muse” has not.
Harmon is deeply inspired by the gorgeous landscapes of northern Minnesota. He also has a passion for interesting weather patterns. Together, these subjects gave him the impetus to start his life’s work.
“My friends and I have taken more than 35 Boundary Waters trips – mostly to go fishing,” Harmon noted. “Along the way, I’d see all these beautiful landscapes and, later, saw the work of local photographer Craig Blacklock. I’ve also always loved the work of Ansel Adams. At some point, I said to myself, ‘I want to do that.’”
Harmon has a reputation for doing whatever it takes to capture that perfect shot, including hiking, canoeing, kayaking, camping, and snowshoeing. And that includes working some odd hours.
“Sometimes I depart at 2 am,” he said. “I always get the coffee pot ready to go the night before so I can just push a button. And then I don’t have to wake my wife up when I grind the beans.”
Origin Story
Harmon was born and raised in New Town, North Dakota. His late father, Robert, worked in the Bakken oil field. And his mother, Sylvia, operated the Sunset Motel. Harmon has three sisters. As a child, he was a Boy Scout, and loved exploring outdoors, roaming the North Dakota Badlands around Lake Sakakawea.
After graduating from New Town High School, he decided to pursue a career as an electrical engineer. “I was good at science and math, and knew it would provide a good income,” he explained.
He attended the University of North Dakota – Grand Forks, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Harmon spent his entire 37-year career at Honeywell (living first in Minneapolis, and later in New Brighton, Minnesota), where he worked as an engineer for Honeywell’s commercial aerospace guidance systems.
He explained a bit about his work. “If you get on a commercial airplane to go anywhere, the plane always has a Honeywell laser inertial reference system integrated with GPS. This provides guidance components for the aircraft. I was involved in the design, manufacturing, and testing of these systems.”
Photography
While living in the Twin Cities in the ‘80s, Harmon decided he wanted to learn to use a camera. He started out by exploring Minneapolis and snapping cityscape shots with a Nikon FE2, a 35mm single-lens reflex camera. He developed the film and prints himself in his apartment basement’s dark room.
His turning point came, he says, when he realized, “I didn’t want to shoot in black and white anymore, and I didn’t want to do the city. I wanted to do natural landscapes, and in color.” First, that involved using Fuji Velvia slide film. His next step was a foray into the digital world.
Tools
He started with the Canon EOS 20D digital camera and eventually progressed to the 50D and 6D models. Later, he transitioned to Sony mirrorless cameras and has used the a7Riii and the a7Riv, which he uses today.
He occasionally uses a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone, and almost always uses his trusty Manfrotto tripod with his Sony camera. When it comes to lenses, he has four that cover a range of 14mm – 600mm, depending on the angle of view and level of magnification he is looking for.
Harmon doesn’t use color modifying filters but uses graduated neutral density filters, which are good for balancing light in a scene. He also uses neutral density filters to adjust the exposure time, and a polarizer filter to reduce haze and reflections.
Harmon is mostly self-taught. However, he took a couple of extension classes through the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. He also enjoys learning about things like photo editors and camera components from YouTube tutorials.
Prime Conditions
Harmon is always on the lookout for beautiful lighting and interesting weather, noting that fog and early morning or late evening sunshine are his optimal conditions. He also loves shooting Minnesota’s four seasons – especially the spring leaves, vibrant fall colors, snow/ice, and sea smoke.
He is also talented at finding and capturing the Aurora Borealis. “You want to be facing north with a good foreground,” he explained about shooting the Northern Lights. “It’s really great when you can be along a lake, with the colors reflected in the water, and pine trees in the foreground.”
Some of his favorite places to shoot are the BWCA, Sawtooth Mountains, and “Everywhere from Jay Cooke State Park to Grand Portage, with plenty of stops along the way.”
Duluth
Harmon retired in 2018, and in a wonderful coincidence, his wife, Jeannine, received a job offer in Duluth that same year. She worked as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Essentia until her own recent retirement. So, the couple relocated to Duluth in 2018.
For years, the Harmons would travel from their home in the Twin Cities to their cabin on Devil Track Lake near Grand Marais, racing through Duluth on their way. “Now that we live here permanently, I can’t believe how much of Duluth we missed,” he said. “We’d always stop for a quick meal at Taco John’s on our way because it was quick, and that’s what our kids wanted. And that was the extent of our time in Duluth.”
Now that they’re fully settled into their home in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood, they are enjoying everything Duluth has to offer. “We love swimming on Park Point, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, paddleboarding, sea kayaking, running, and biking, as well as saunas at home” he noted. “I also pick up trash in the springtime, along Skyline Parkway.”
Harmon loves grabbing an IPA at local breweries Ursa Minor or Bent Paddle. And the couple enjoys restaurants like At Sara’s Table, Bali, and Phoholic.
The Harmons have two adult children, Luke (36), and Marie (33). They also have a cat named Kitty 3.
In their spare time, the Harmons also enjoy traveling, which, of course, includes great destinations for photography. Their adventures abroad thus far have included Iceland and New Zealand.
Accolades + Exhibitions
Harmon displays and sells his photos on his website, kenharmonphotography.com. He also has a significant presence on Facebook and Instagram. He creates an annual calendar featuring his work, which can be purchased from his Instagram account.
Harmon had the privilege of having his work displayed at an art show at Split Rock Lighthouse in July 2024, and hopes to have more exhibitions in the future. Since moving to Duluth, Harmon has also become one of Destination Duluth’s top photographers, being featured 337 times with over 8.1 million views.
Advice
Harmon shared some top tips for new photographers. “First, figure out what your style is – what you like to shoot and how you like to do it.
“Then, learn how to operate a camera. A smartphone is a good place to start, by practicing compositions, finding good light, and trying different subject matter.
“Then, consider trying out a DSLR or mirrorless camera, and learn to use a photo editor. My preference is Adobe Lightroom.”
Many photographers have a dream shot they are always striving to capture. But not Harmon. “The idea of a ‘bucket list shot’ is not all that appealing to me,” he said. “I just like to wing it.”
See more of Ken’s photography at kenharmonphotography.com, on Facebook at Ken Harmon Photography and on Instagram @kenharmonbwca
