So, you might have picked up on the fact that my brand name, is a misspelling of my last name “Croke”.
And let me tell you, this is intentional. You see since as far back as I can remember companies and people have been spelling my last name wrong. Be it when they’re addressing my parents, or myself. Because the actual word “croak” (you know, the noise frogs make) people just assumed that is how our family name is spelt without even fact checking with us before hand. So when I was brainstorming a name for my brand, I thought I would play on this as it’s a memorable name and it’s one that I’ve basically had my whole life anyway.
I have been an avid photography hobbyist now for around 8+ years, starting way back with an old bridge camera I got (for the life of me I can’t remember what model it was). You see, my Dad and Brother-In-Law were also hobbyist photographers (my brother-in-law actually went on to make it a part-time gig), so naturally I followed in their footsteps and quickly gained a love for the hobby. They always praised my eye with a camera and we enjoyed sharing the shots we got on trips out. Eventually I joined them in the ranks of pro-level gear with my first DLSR body, the Nikon D3500 which immediately allowed me to up my game when it came to gear as both of them my Dad & Brother) also shot Nikon, so this allowed me to use their glass until I had a collection to call my own.
Immediately I took it out for a spin, and where better else than one of my hometown favourite spots. Attenborough Nature Reserve.
Being a 5 minute drive from my hometown in Nottingham, Attenborough has been the corner stone in my life to learning how to use a camera properly, and such has been a place I have visited quite often, even since moving to the West Midlands in 2021.
However since my initial dive into Photography, I have shelfed my Nikon for my first Full-Frame Mirrorless System with the Sony Alpha 7ii, a dated camera by todays standards (releasing back in November 2014) with the aim to upgrade the body sometime in 2025. The reason for the upgrade was for a few reasons. The first being obvious, the jump from my D3500s crop-sensor to a full frame was a must, having those extra pixels and the intended focal length of my lenses was a no brainer. As for changing from a Nikon system to the world of Sony, this had its own few reasons. The first being, I wanted to be different from my Dad & Brother, as nice as it was that we could all interchanged our lenses between each other, I wanted something truly all my own. And secondly, low-light performance. As for a long period of time one of my main avenues with a camera was shooting inside my office/gaming space for Brand collaborations or just for the sake of it, I was hindered by the Nikons low-light capabilities, which Sony has just been incredibly good at.
As my love for the hobby grew, so did the love I had for the outdoors as I found myself wanting to get out there more and just take pictures of the natural beauty of the world. I traveled all around Nottinghamshire, ending up in Robin Hoods home, Sherwood Forest a few times, Trent Meadows (another home town favourite of mine), Highfields Park (Notts Uni), the home of Christian Bales Batman, Wollaton Hall (genuinely my most fave place in all of Nottingham) and many more.
Now, before I rustle up some local feathers in a local rivalry, yes *technically* where I’m from is Derbyshire. BUT my hometown is situated that perfectly in the middle of Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire, that we are literally split between the two Counties, the Local Council we fell under was Derbyshire City Council, and my postcode was a Nottingham (NG) one. And I’m sure 90% of people from my Hometown (and the neighbouring one) would agree, we are Nottingham all the way! (And we’re going to ignore the fact I grew up as a Derby County fan in my football days 👀which, to be fair, they were the best team in the East Midlands at the time)
So since starting this journey with photography my craft has expanded over the years with me trying some Street Photography. Street photography gained my interest after watching some YouTube videos from people like North Borders, Opitcal Wander & Peter McKinnon and my natural sense of wanting to improve my skills kicked in. So I started taking my camera out and about around Nottingham (and later in life – London, Manchester, Birmingham and even places like Thailand & Vietnam!) I wanted to capture people, in their natural day-to-day lives. See their emotions on how they go about their day, and naturally, I really enjoyed it! (but to be honest, I find it very hard not to enjoy being with my camera)
Product Photography however, started all because of my alter ego Gaming & Tech brand. See, even though my main calling with photography has always been Landscapes & Nature, I loved capturing details of products and making them look as good as I possibly could. So in tandem with my love for Gaming and Computers, I got into the “Setup” community, RoyaltyRGB. And doing so, I tried to get more creative with my work with my camera so that my presecnes in the community grew and the doors would open to work with Brands and take images of their products. And to my suprise, that’s exactly what happened. My Instagram was doing okay and I ended up working with some big names in the Tech space such as: Govee, NanoLeaf, Hyte, Fractal Design, Aputure & more. One of my biggest and longest collaborations however was with some Energy Drinks brands, most notably Sneak Energy, a company based in Manchester. I was “the face” of the brand for a while as their first Community Ambassador through my streams at the time, which allowed me to work closley with the company on new releases, discounts and in-person events like their pop-up shop in London early 2024.
Portrait Photography & Event Photography kinda fell into line following my time as a Gaming & Tech content creator. I had gained a lot of friends within the space, and naturally, a good handful of those were cosplayers.
So naturally we went to Conventions together such as Comic Con Birmingham & Insomnia Festival (RIP). So, as you would expect I would attend these festivals with my friends, take pictures in and around the venues, and of course. Them in cosplay (’cause they’re bloody good at it and look amazing).
I have in the past also taken Event photos for my 9-5 when we’re exhibiting at events for pictures of the stands, notable people in the industries we worked in etc, or that one time I was sent off to Stockholm, Sweeden to learn about AI 🤯
That kinda sums up my time (for now) with photography. What started out as a hobby for wanting to bond (and to be honest, out-do) my Dad & Brother-In-Law, has taken me to a bunch of different places. And now as we approach 2025, I want to take my hand at making a side-gig out of it, much like my brother did, both for myself and in his memory.
I hope that this massive wall of waffle helps you understand me more of a person and gives you step closer in wanting to work with me!
© 2024 Croak | What you doing down here?
