ELY- Larry Ricker draws much of his inspiration from the boreal forest landscape, which makes his recent move from Rochester to Ely especially convenient.
Ricker, who lived in the southern Minnesota city for 42 years, finally convinced his wife Pat that the change could meet both their objectives for retirement. “I wanted to be out in the country. She wanted to be in town. So, we moved to a place here in Ely on the edge of town, but right next to the trees.”
In years past, Ricker would commute for much of his photography, traveling to Ely to create his images from the surrounding forest and lakes. “I consider myself to be a landscape photographer,” Ricker said. “I am an opportunistic wildlife photographer,” he added, noting the large number of wildlife photos he sells.
The aurora borealis is one of his favorite subjects. “I used to commute from Rochester to here to take pictures of the aurora.” Since moving here, that commute is much shorter. “Now it’s just a 15-minute drive to get away from the streetlights in Ely,” he said.
While he’s a new resident in the area, his work is already well-known in Ely. Ricker frequently posts his most recent images, especially his popular aurora borealis photos, on the “What’s Up, Ely?” Facebook page.
Ricker’s work has been published in multiple venues, including Sports Illustrated, The Boundary Waters Journal, Canoe & Kayak, and Canoeroots magazines. He sells his photographs in Ely through The Cabin gift shop on Sheridan Street. Prints of his images are available in several different sizes, on paper, metal, and slate backings. Also for sale are wares featuring his pictures, like coffee cups and coasters. He has recently added totes to his product line.
Ricker sells his photos and wares at the Tuesday evening Farmer’s Market in Ely, at the Blueberry/Art Festival and at the Harvest Moon Festival. He also sells online at his website at lhrimages.com.
“The coasters are successful sellers at the Farmer’s Market,” Ricker remarked. “This is actually my first year selling at the Farmer’s Market, and other than when it rains outs, it’s been going well for me. I tend to sell bigger items at Blueberry and Harvest Moon.”

Five decades of photos
Ricker was born in Milwaukee and lived there until he was six years old. His family moved to Atlanta and then North Carolina before returning to Milwaukee in the 1960s, where Ricker graduated from high school.
Ricker caught his enthusiasm for taking pictures from his father. As a field engineer for Allis Chalmers, his father often had to travel for work, and took a 35mm camera with him everywhere he went. He brought home slide shows of all the places he visited. His camera habit rubbed off on Ricker, who bought his first camera—a Kodak Instamatic 126—as a teenager.
Ricker joined the U.S. Air Force and served for four years, most of it in England, where he met his wife. While in the Air Force, he bought his first 35mm, a Yashica Rangefinder, one of the first cameras with an auto-exposure adjustment. He soon upgraded to his first SLR, also a Yashica.
After his time in the military, Ricker came home and completed a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He then went to work for IBM in Rochester for 27 years before taking an early retirement.
Ricker shot film up to 2003 when he acquired a point-and-shoot Olympus. He picked up a Nikon D70 in 2004 and is now all digital. His current stable of cameras includes a Nikon D7200 and a Nikon Z50.
Ricker was hooked on the switch from film to digital. “One of the things I really liked was being able to look at a picture right away, instead of having to wait for the film to return from the color lab … I don’t even know where I could buy 35mm film anymore,” Ricker joked. “I have no idea where there are any color labs left that can develop film.”

Full-time photography
Ricker’s transition from engineer to photographer was a gradual one.
“I started selling photos before I left IBM,”said Ricker. But his photography took off after retiring from IBM. “Something seemed to be working. My pictures started selling and I had a glimmer of hope that it could do more than just pay for itself.”
That glimmer of hope has now become Ricker’s second career and his photos and wares have been available for purchase at The Cabin, in Ely for almost a decade. “Marilyn Daane, who owns The Cabin, saw my work at Harvest Moon and invited me to sell my work at her shop,” said Ricker. Daane has run The Cabin since 1978, opening it for four months every year during the tourist season.

Moving to Ely
Besides photography, Ricker said he likes to camp, paddle, and snowshoe, which makes Ely his perfect home port and he’s thrilled to be in the heart of the landscape he’s been drawn to for decades.
“The boreal forest calls to me,” he said. “Everywhere I look, there’s a photo.”