About Gareth Cooke

Let’s be honest. Every photographer’s website has great photos and a blurb about what fantastic photographers they are. And mostly it’s true but I’m not going to re-hash another version of the same old thing. I’m assuming you’ve looked at the images, watched my videos, read the blog, browsed the gallery collections, and are interested enough to get to this page so here’s a bit about me.

Mine is not a story about picking up my first camera as a young kid and taking photos ever since – a lifetime of photographic excellence. Although I’ve always been captivated by a great image, my story is more about experiencing life before embarking on a photographic career.

The journey to this point has taken many twists and turns. Some of my most memorable include working as a fork hoist driver in a tallow (animal fat) factory in Melbourne. Certainly wasn’t glamorous or well paid but it was a job when I really needed it!

Then there was working for a billionaire in Santa Cruz, California. Surfing first thing in the morning, last thing in the evening, sometimes at night, and in between working on his fleet of yachts. Friday nights were often spent in the private jet (not mine) flying up to Squaw Valley for a weekend of snowboarding.

Along the way I discovered I wasn’t cut out for being a magazine editor or a metal fabricator although both those skills still hold me in good stead.

Circumnavigating the world twice as a professional sailor was a lot of fun although it didn’t always seem like it at the time – especially when we broke our mast amongst ice-bergs in the Southern Ocean.

But without doubt the coolest experience so far has to be my two beautiful daughters Siina and Tiia. Nothing gives me more pleasure than watching my two girls grow up. Every day without fail they make me laugh. They are absolute gold!

I believe all these life experiences make a better photographer, able to connect with the subject or situation better. Photography is about connecting with the viewer’s emotions. Whether it is someone imagining themselves with a new product or someone wondering what happened in the moments before or after the shutter was released, a good photo makes people stop. Momentarily it takes them some place else, it makes them think. I hope mine do.

So if you haven’t already, take a look at the photos on this site – I hope you’ve enjoyed my rant.

You can view a full selection of my marine photography at Subzero Images and also some of my partner’s graphic design work at Subzero Design.

Here’s a list of some of my clients: