The Sunday interview: 5 questions for Nigel Cooke

Today I will present Nigel Cooke, the author of Bimbles With a Camera. Nigel is an ex-commercial sport photographer who switched to landscape photography and lives in a van.

1. Why photography?

In all honesty, it chose me. I still remember that first day, almost 20 years ago, framing up those two swans, very poorly may I add, on the River Cam, Cambridge, and clicking the shutter button. The hairs on my arms bristled, and I knew that photography would be a huge part of the remainder of my life. I still can't quite explain the feeling, and yet here I am, still as much in love with photography as that first day. It can be a complicated relationship at times - certainly not as easy as The Gram would have you believe. And yet I love it. It's part of me. There have been a few iterations in my photography life, professionally as both a sports and landscape photographer, and now living a nomadic life in a campervan, combining travel photography and writing. I still make plenty of space for my own bimbles with the camera since this is where I derive the most joy.

2. What is your favourite gear? (camera, lens)

Favourite gear has changed over the years. In the early days, I was in love with my 10-20mm lens as I attempted to get as much into the frame as was humanly possible, even sometimes my own feet (by mistake). As a professional sports photographer, I loved wielding the big glass, the Canon 400mm f/2.8, my weapon of choice. It was so big that when it was in its case, it didn't fit into the boot of my little sports car. As a landscape photographer, I switched from Canon to Fuji and have to say my favourite piece of kit has remained my trusty, albeit quite battered and bruised, X100T. Perhaps one day I'll upgrade to the latest incarnation of that, but for now, the X100T is never far from my hand. The iPhone has also been a huge part of my photography toolkit for the past few years, and most of the images from my recent '100 Day Project' were taken with it (shot and processed on it).

The 100 Day Project

3. What are your favourite subjects to photograph?

I started out, like most, shooting everything and anything, but soon developed a particular liking for wildlife photography. This, however, came with challenges, and I found it often diminished my enjoyment of simply wildlife watching. Today, I primarily make images of landscapes, and over the past couple of years, my eye has been drawn more to the quieter scenes, those which are often overlooked. I can often be found either staring down at my feet or into a tangled mesh of undergrowth. Passersby will sometimes ask what I'm "looking at," and when I reply "Scruff," they sometimes say, "Is that some kind of bird?". Hours can sometimes pass as I try to piece together a composition from what Mother Nature has laid out in front of me. Of course, needing to make travel images, I will also don a commercial hat from time to time and chase down a gentle sunrise or fiery sunset.

4. Can you name a few of your favourite photographers?

Favourite photographers

a) David Ward

b) Theo Bosboom

c) Mark Littlejohn

5. What can Substack community expect from you/your publication in the future?

It's only been in the past year that I've started to dabble with words along with my images. So, I guess what you may find right now is perhaps a little jumbled as I try to find my feet. Social media is an increasingly frustrating place for any artist, and sadly, I feel this trend will continue. Still, I'm enjoying my time and interactions here and hope to continue sharing more of my work, along with stories of my nomadic lifestyle. I find it challenging to articulate my thoughts on my relationship with photography, so I make images constantly. Often, they are no more than moments in time that perhaps one day, as I look back, will help me understand the why. Or perhaps they will forever remain just that—moments. I'm okay with that either way. As I get more comfortable with my words and how to articulate them, I also hope to talk a little more about the why of photography for me.