Kevin Cook is a documentary photographer, photojournalist and photo educator based in his hometown of Philadelphia. He grew up in Mayfair, a working class neighborhood in Northeast Philly. Through his experiences in Philadelphia he has developed a passion to work on long form photographic essays that explore interesting communities, underreported neighborhoods and social issues in his hometown. Cook has shot freelance work for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer and others. He has his Master’s degree in Photojournalism from the University of Missouri. His work has been recognized in the Inaugural Getty Images/Instagram grant, the Missouri and Pennsylvania Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the College Photographer of the Year Competition. He attended the Eddie Adams Workshop and Instagram added him on their Emerging Photojournalists list. Cook is the Photography Teacher at Solebury School, a private and day boarding school, in Bucks County, Pa. He teaches students beginner and advanced film and digital photography courses.
Mayfair
Kevin Cook uses his training in photojournalism to photograph stories through the use of candid moments, documentary portraiture, landscape pictures and detail photographs. His approach allows him to uniquely capture real life scenarios and people. In Cook’s ongoing photographic essay “Mayfair” he is revisiting his childhood neighborhood, Mayfair, Northeast Philadelphia, 15 years after he moved away.
The Northeast, once known to be home to a large working class Irish American population, is now one of the most ethnically and racially diverse sections of Philly. Northeast Philadelphia went from 92% white in 1990 to 58.3% white in 2010. Additionally, poverty has increased 62% sections of NE Philly since 2000.
Kevin Cook is constantly inspired by Philadelphia’s eccentric beauty. He hopes his work gives everyone a voice and gives everyone a way to see and understand the world around them.
To view more of Kevin’s work please visit his website.