The Cook

When I was in Auckland last, I did my usual pilgrimage to Parsons Bookshop to have a browse and a little shopping. One of the books I picked up was this one.

David Cook has been photographing the Rotowaro area since the mid-1980s, and this book is the end result. Anne Noble says it is "one of the richest photographic investigations of location and 'place' that has been carried out in New Zealand." I say forget the "one of". The book is part photography, part social history, part journal. It is a stunning work, beautifully shot, beautifully designed, and beautifully written. It is a book that everyone should own - if you can find it (I've only seen it the once, and then only the one copy).

John Turner mentioned David's work to me when we met a few months back, suggesting there was some (minor) similarity in our work. It's David's second book on Rotowaro, and having seen the first book I was surprised to see that, yes there is some (minor) similarity in our work. David is clearly an explorer - of both place and photography - and for that I'm grateful.