Taylor Cook, photographer and former hockey player
Behind the lens · Taylor Cook

FROM THE ICE
TO THE APERTURE.

I'm Taylor, a retired collegiate and professional athlete with 25+ years in the game.

Hockey took me to places I never would have imagined visiting: Norway, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Germany. For most of that time my camera was my phone. I shot from bus windows, harbours after practice, and whatever town we had a day off in.

Since retiring, I've picked up a real camera and started exploring on my own schedule instead of a team's.

↓ Follow the route
25+Years in the game
20+Countries
The route

WHERE THE GAME
TOOK ME.

Where it started

Canada

Home ice

Years of early mornings and collegiate hockey before the game took me overseas.

A fiery red and orange band of sunset burning low over Georgian Bay, the dark shoreline and silhouetted trees framing the last light of the day.
Georgian Bay at Dusk
The impossibly clear turquoise waters of The Grotto on Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, people swimming and sunbathing on the rocky Georgian Bay shoreline.
The Grotto, Bruce Peninsula
Pro contract

Norway

Velkommen til Norge

My first professional seasons. Living in Oslo, travelling the country, and chasing northern lights and waterfront sunsets, all shot on my phone.

A blazing orange and teal sunset over Tromsø harbour, sailboat masts silhouetted against the burning sky, a life ring on the dock railing in the foreground.
Tromsø on Fire
The aurora borealis sweeps in vivid green across the night sky above Tromsø's harbour.
Northern Lights Over the Marina
Pro contract

Kazakhstan

Қош келдіңіз

Almaty. A place I never imagined living, for a short stint I'll never forget.

Looking down the ice from behind a hockey net in an empty Kazakhstani arena, the Kazakhstan national banner lit up on the scoreboard.
The Net, Ust-Kamenogorsk
A dramatic pink and violet sunset over the skyline of Ust-Kamenogorsk.
Pink Sky Over Ust-Kamenogorsk
Retirement

Germany

Willkommen in Deutschland

Where I hung up the skates, and started trading rinks for castles and Alpine views.

Neuschwanstein Castle perched on a forested cliff in winter light, a single contrail streaking the pale sky above its white towers.
Neuschwanstein in Winter
A lone bicycle leaning against a railing on the Friedrichshafen waterfront, Lake Constance calm and wide under a big summer sky.
Bike by the Bodensee
On my own schedule

Beyond the rink

The aperture

Since retiring I've picked up a real camera and started exploring on my own clock instead of a team's — Hallstatt, Paris, Helsinki and wherever comes next.

Hallstatt village reflected in the still dark waters of the Hallstättersee, its church spire and alpine rooftops dwarfed by the sheer grey cliff face rising behind.
Hallstatt Across the Lake
The Eiffel Tower glowing gold at the end of a quiet Parisian side street at night, framed by apartment buildings on either side.
End of the Street, Paris
Where next?

THE ROUTE KEEPS GOING.

Browse the photographs, read the stories behind them, or get in touch about a project.

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