MAKING A MOVIE OUT OF LIFE
I grew up a big movie buff. Films like Jaws, Star Wars, The Royal Tenenbaums and Pulp Fiction. Directors such as Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantinio. Cinematographers like Michael Slovis, Janusz Kaminski, Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki.
I always appreciate mood shaping lighting, unique compositions, vivid colors and jawdropping visual effects ... vivid colors and jawdropping visual effects ... elements of a film that layer together to create a beautifully constructed scene that compliments a story. Great filmmaking is just one of the many things that inspires me as a visual artist.
I grew up a big movie buff. Films like Jaws, Star Wars, The Royal Tenenbaums and Pulp Fiction. Directors such as Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantinio. Cinematographers like Michael Slovis, Janusz Kaminski, Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki.
I'm drawn to mood shaping lighting, unique compositions, vivid colors and jawdropping visual effects ... elements of a film that layer together to create a beautifully constructed scene that compliments a story. Great filmmaking is one of the things that always inspires me as a visual artist.
It took me years to be comfortable with the idea that I could be different, do something extraordinary, and simply be me, embrace my weirdness and my quirks, and the right people will be attracted to that.
MAKING A MOVIE
OUT OF LIFE
Photography is Cooke’s second career. Growing up in Halifax, "I was the guy with the camera," he says. "I'd walk around and talk to people and shoot pictures.” But he never considered it a career. He earned his degree in psychology and human resources and leveraged his flair for computers into a career in information technology, working in the real estate division of Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the home mortgage crisis in full swing and a family that was growing, Cooke left his job and he and his wife, Susie, moved back to Nova Scotia in 2010.
He had continued photography as a hobby and discovered the potential of digital photography. Why not use it as a potential earner while looking for his next career move. Cooke chose wedding photography because it entails all genres: portraiture, fashion, photojournalism, food, boudoir, art. "Wedding photography is a perfect place for someone who is starting out to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none," he says. "And you will master some along the way and learn what you love."
ABOUT JEFF
Through Craigslist he offered free wedding photography for practice, and out of a couple dozen responses, he worked three weddings. Meanwhile, a friend hired him to shoot her wedding at Kiawah Island near Charleston, South Carolina. He built a website and, with his analytics know-how, peppered it with the keyword "Halifax." Google began listing it high on Nova Scotia searches, and couples in Canada’s Maritime region were coming across a seemingly local photographer doing photojournalism-style wedding photography like they’d never seen before. When Susie got a government job in Halifax and they returned to their hometown, Cooke booked 50 weddings in the first year. "Well, I guess I’m a photographer now," he told himself.
Written by Eric Milton for Professional Photographer Magazine
ABOUT JEFF
Written by Eric Milton for Professional Photographer Magazine
Photography is Cooke’s second career. Growing up in Halifax, "I was the guy with the camera," he says. "I'd walk around and talk to people and shoot pictures.” But he never considered it a career. He earned his degree in psychology and human resources and leveraged his flair for computers into a career in information technology, working in the real estate division of Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the home mortgage crisis in full swing and a family that was growing, Cooke left his job and he and his wife, Susie, moved back to Nova Scotia in 2010.
He had continued photography as a hobby and discovered the potential of digital photography. Why not use it as a potential earner while looking for his next career move. Cooke chose wedding photography because it entails all genres: portraiture, fashion, photojournalism, food, boudoir, art. "Wedding photography is a perfect place for someone who is starting out to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none," he says. "And you will master some along the way and learn what you love."
Through Craigslist he offered free wedding photography for practice, and out of a couple dozen responses, he worked three weddings. Meanwhile, a friend hired him to shoot her wedding at Kiawah Island near Charleston, South Carolina. He built a website and, with his analytics know-how, peppered it with the keyword "Halifax." Google began listing it high on Nova Scotia searches, and couples in Canada’s Maritime region were coming across a seemingly local photographer doing photojournalism-style wedding photography like they’d never seen before.
When Susie got a government job in Halifax and they returned to their hometown, Cooke booked 50 weddings in the first year. "Well, I guess I’m a photographer now," he told himself.
RECENT WORK BY JEFF
RECENT WORK BY JEFF
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1861 Granville Street, Halifax
Nova Scotia, Canada
902.222.7618