The hope to inspire
Bethel alum reflects on how he got to where he is today within the photography industry and on his Instagram pages: Destination Duluth, Me in Minnesota and Capture Minnesota.
By Emma Carmichael
Nathan Klok sat in a circle with his extended family on Christmas Day 2009. A gentle snow fell outside the window, catching Klok’s eye as he reached for a gift. His grandpa’s face was plastered with a smile as Klok opened his gift.
Immediately, Klok began jumping up and down, giddy over his new gift. Removing the paper, he showed his family the present: a Sony a100.
Klok, who graduated from Bethel University in 2018, always knew he wanted to do something with photography. When Klok was 13 years old, his dad worked for Delta Airlines and gave Klok the opportunity to take photos for the company’s branding site.
From then on, Klok knew he had a passion, but what would he do with it?
He began getting behind the camera every chance he got. High school yearbook. Freelance at Minnesota United FC. Brand deals with Poozy. News Sports.
After many months of consideration, in 2013 Klok knew he wanted to start his own business and needed to learn how to run a business properly. Four years later, Klok graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in business marketing, in hopes to start his own business, Nathan Klok Photography.
“Bethel has had so many great photographers that wanted to see me succeed,” Klok said. “Former Bethel alumni and now current Minnesota Vikings photographer Andy Kenutis gave me countless opportunities to shoot for the Vikings.” — Nathan Klok, Bethel alum
Later, Klok got to photograph a B-25 bomber at the South St. Paul airport and fly with Bud Grant, the hall-of-fame coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2018, Klok met AJ Barrett, now Bethel University athletics’ photographer and brand manager, in hopes of teaching him the ins and outs of Bethel’s athletic photography.
“You know, we both really bonded over photography, like instantly,” Barrett said. “We’re both the type of people that will do whatever we can for the shot and just like tunnel vision, when it comes to that sort of stuff.”
After shooting sports for about eight years in the Twin Cities, Klok realized the landscapes of both the North Shore and Minneapolis were what he was truly interested in — where he got his start in photography — and he wanted to return to his roots.
After changing his focus to landscape photography, Klok began to be recognized for his work only a few years later. With this came his photography being posted on the Destination Duluth Instagram page, each of his photographs with more than 5 million views within a few days.
But even after getting more into shooting landscapes, Klok could never fully get away from sports photography.
Opportunities were still flowing his way, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, WNBA playoffs, ESPN, Red Bull events and even working with Olympic distance runner Gwen Jordgensen.
Additionally, Klok got into astrophotography, whether it was photographing the northern lights, or both the 2017 and 2024 solar eclipses.
In the midst of following his dreams, Katja Klok was brought into Klok’s life through the dating app Hinge. Since being married for more than a year, the pair has gone on many adventures.
“It’s exciting as his wife to see how much he is learning every year,” Katja said. “He is never running out of ideas, and if he does, he is always looking for new ones, he just wants to get better and better.”
Klok’s biggest goal as a professional photographer is to be a light to others. He shares his tools. Shares his equipment. Shares with people who are in the same industry. Everyone, as a photographer, wants to see others succeed.
“Photography is something that brings me to incredible places, whether that be to Fairbanks, Alaska, or the North Shore,” Klok said. “It brings me joy and peace to have a creative outlet and share many great times with friends.” — — Nathan Klok, professional photographer
After 20 years of photographing many different things, Klok doesn’t see his career stopping anytime soon. His work lives on at Bethel as his photos hang at Benson Great Hall and throughout the athletics department.
