Don Cooper Self-Portrait
Hello, and welcome to Overbrook. My name is Don Cooper, the Toronto-based photographer at Overbrook Studio. I was active full-time as a commercial (business) photographer from 1990 – 2022 doing a wide variety of work for corporate and advertising clients. I have since (mid 2022) retired from commercial work.
Currently I have turned my attention to shooting and printing my own fine art photography. Onwards!
A few words about my past – in the beginning I worked with a 4″x 5″ view camera and also medium format and 35mm film cameras. Living and working all through effectively the end of the film era, the inception of the internet and the rise of digital cameras has been a wonderful, challenging and educational journey! For just one example, the “worldwideweb” was being developed by Tim Berners-Lee from 1989 on although nobody outside of his team at CERN (a European high energy physics centre) was aware this stupendous invention was brewing.
Before setting out on my photography career I was employed as the building manager of the Edward Johnson Building (Faculty of Music) at the University of Toronto. During my time there I developed an intense interest in the video crews and still photographers who frequently came into the building to shoot. I began to study photography in earnest during this time and left U of T in late 1989 to become a professional photographer.
The bulk of my experience was in corporate and advertising work consisting of interiors, exteriors, people, lifestyle and a wide variety of products. During my career I rented studios if I needed a large space, did location work, and also found I could do the majority of my still life assignments in my own home studio. The above “Past Work” menu shows some samples of my commercial work.
In my spare time I enjoy shooting the beauty of nature, watching movies, listening to music, walking and playing golf.
University of Toronto Press, University of Toronto Bookstores, McGovern Advertising (Fujitsu), Costco (Costco Connection Magazine), House of Horvath, TVM Building Products, National Foods, Harpur’s Custom Sportswear, Kobe Sportswear, Hotline Apparel Systems, Campus Originals, Guru Sportswear, Definition Activewear, Toronto Historical Board, Environment Canada, Wooden Sticks Golf, Flemingdon Park Golf, Royal Canadian Golf Association, Hooked on the Outdoors Magazine, Casio Canada, Bic Inc., Guelph University Bookstore, Commonwealth Legal, Recochem Inc., St. Michael’s College, Madison Press Books, Rose Cherry’s Home, Opti-Tech Scientific, Canadian Figure Skating Association, Cool Canuck, Midland Clothing, Fuzion Sportswear, The 3D Way
Past National Board Member – Canadian Association of Professional Image Creators (CAPIC)
B.A. (1971) – Victoria College, University of Toronto
Xposé by CAPIC Toronto Chapter at Todmorden Papermill Gallery, Toronto – part of Contact 2014 (Juried Show)
Xposé by CAPIC Toronto Chapter at Todmorden Papermill Gallery, Toronto – part of Contact 2017 (Juried Show)
