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Nigel Cooke
Former sports photographer who now spends most of his time (outside of the current lockdown situation) bimbling in his campervan throughout the UK (and hopefully soon beyond these shores). A passion for coastal and woodland images. Has been known to dance for cake. Does not believe in Pandas. Never been to Elgol.
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Choosing a favourite image is an almost impossible task for me, given that my mood and tastes have shifted quite significantly over the past few years. Still, when approached by On Landscape to consider this, it did give me a chance to look back over the photographers who in one way or another have helped shape my own journey thus far.
I, like most, when first starting out in landscape photography, was drawn to the grander view: colour; drama; impact. Wide views which pulled you into the scene. Those, and I mean no disrespect to the photographers or their work, where you didn’t have to go looking too hard for the image. Beautiful, but nonetheless often a literal representation of the scene in front of them. Work from the likes of Adam Burton, Neil Barr and Mark Bauer was part of my regular morning fix of photography over coffee.
It wasn’t until I had returned to landscape photography (after several years working as a sports photographer) that I realised my tastes had shifted and my eye was now drawn to quieter moments in the landscape. Whilst the view could still be grand at times, the palette was more muted, sometimes almost devoid of all colour. Work from the likes of Benjamin Graham, Rohan Reilly and Jenifer Bunnett were permanent fixtures on my browser’s toolbar.
My tastes have once again shifted, this time more to the intimate view of the landscape, with work from the likes of David Ward, Russ Barnes and Hans Strand being a joy to peruse. A number of these images make me question what I am looking at and that helps me linger longer, sometimes revealing even more hidden beauty.
Today, while all of the above still holds a place in my heart, especially for the intimate landscape, I now find myself drawn more and more to those photographers who are taking their work further than a single straightforward image. For me, one of the standout names in this field is Glenys Garnett As someone who also posts videos on YouTube, I first became aware of Glenys’ work via her series ‘The Making Of’