Biography

Jim Rook is a nature photographer based out of Alexandria, Minnesota. This is the heart of west central Minnesota’s lakes country; an area filled with countless natural and deep glacial lakes, wetlands and sloughs, hardwood forests, rolling hills and abundant wildlife. All of these remarkable features tie in well with Jim’s specialties of nature, landscape and wildlife photography. His style and compositions are unmistakable and always evolving. Whether it be a detailed capture of a Bluebird in its natural setting, the vivid contrast of a native flower or the light of a fleeting blue-hour landscape his photos will draw you in. 

Artist Statement

Welcome, and thank you for pausing a few moments to look over my photographs. That’s my passion; to visually and emotionally take you to another place and share with you some of the beauty that my eyes have been blessed to see.

As mentioned in the biography, I make my home in Minnesota and tend to concentrate my artistic efforts there. From the prairie potholes to the Great Lakes and on up to the Boundary Waters, there seem to be endless opportunities within a few hours drive.

Still, I am also drawn by the prairies and mountains to the west and as a result have a photographic collection of memorable moments in North and South Dakota, Alaska, Alberta and British Columbia. By “memorable moments”, I’m referring to those times when you look out over the landscape and as you try to take in all of creation's beauty, tears of wonder and amazement suddenly fill your eyes. Those visual moments are not to be taken for granted and we all must do what we can to preserve these treasures of nature .

When I was growing up as a young farm boy, the outdoors rapidly became where I felt totally comfortable and at home. Even more so, there developed a burning inside of me that this natural beauty had to be shared. Thus it wasn’t long before my interest in cameras and photography started to really settle in. I wanted to capture some of those moments and sites I experienced and share them with others. Thus was born my ongoing passion with photography. So when mom surprised me with a used Kodak Pony 135, I set out in pursuit of my dreams.

Well, I let life get in the way. Although I remained interested in photography and took thousands of pictures, it wasn’t until much later in life that I told myself, “Why not!” Since then that burning passion has been centered upon capturing strong images that tell a story. Allowing my understandings of nature to guide me toward photographing images of God’s creations has been a key part of this. Don’t get me wrong; daily efforts to glean technical knowledge, learn editing software and utilize new tools and equipment are constant and ongoing. We never stop learning. I won't ever get to where I want my photography to be but I surely plan to enjoy the ride.

Thank you to all of the talented and gifted people that have shared their knowledge and experience through blogs, books, videos and personal contact. And especially, thanks to those of you who have provided comment, criticism and encouragement. The dream lives on. Again, thanks for taking the time to stop by.