Ellen Kok is a photographer and writer from the Netherlands, who combines photo essays with written stories. She firmly believes storytelling is an important art, that can open eyes and connect people. Her photography is based on trust and intimacy.
She studied at the School for Journalism in Utrecht, the Netherlands, before working as a photography critic and as a freelance photographer. For ten years she specialized in agricultural photography. Now she works mainly on long-term projects, mostly revolving around the lives of young people. They are among the most vulnerable members of our society, she finds, and how we treat them says a great deal about our culture. To counterbalance she seeks the solitude and tranquility of landscape photography.
Ellen is based in Linschoten, the Netherlands and Drewsville, New Hampshire, USA, where she completed her books Cadets, You’ll Hear Us Roar, and The Other Farm, and is working on another one, American Moments. She self-publishes under her imprint Netherlight.
Her work has been published, exhibited and recognized internationally. She had solo exhibitions in the Netherlands and at Photoville, NY, USA. Her first book, School, was chosen as one of the best photography books in the 2004 PDN Photo Annual. The Other Farm won a Silver Award in the P×3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2016, in the category Professional Documentary Book.
