Ken Garrett

Kenneth Garrett is a photographer specializing in The Origin of Civilization. He grew up in a world of photographers and spent his childhood traveling in Alaska, Canada, Mexico and the continental United States. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a photographer. At the University of Virginia, anthropology became his passion and was a perfect fit for someone who wanted to spend his life telling stories through photographs. Being in the right place at the right time, Ken was offered his first National Geographic assignment in 1976 to sail as a training cadet on the Polish tall ship, Dar Pomorza, from Poland to New York City for the American Bicentennial, while photographing and writing the story. Building a career in magazine journalism, Ken worked for many of the staple publications of the day, such as Time, Fortune, Forbes, Smithsonian, Audubon, Natural History, Science 80, among others. Gradually, his work focused on his academic love, the Origin of Civilization. Major assignments developed in Meso America covering the Olmec, Aztec, Maya, Moche, Huari and Tiawanaku. From here he jumped continents to begin a long series of some 14 Egyptian Stories beginning with the Old Kingdom, work that continues to this day

 

Ken took on an assignment to report on Neandertals, where he and the story’s author discovered new information in the Human Evolution field. This research became the Dawn of Humans—a series of 13 stories across the globe. After 49 years of photographing for National Geographic on all seven continents, Ken has honed his story telling abilities while embracing the new possibilities that the transition to digital photography has enabled. On a recent National Geographic Expeditions cruise in Alaska, Ken commented that the Digital Photography component of the expedition was a critical ingredient in the enjoyment and engagement of the guests. People are always asking, after 60 National Geographic Magazine stories, 20 book titles and multiple museum exhibits, what is your favorite place or favorite story? The answer is always the same: The next one!