Corey Arnold: Adventures On The High Seas

22 Feb 2008 Category: Features, Photography, Worldwide

Corey Arnold: Adventures On The High Seas

Photographer Corey Arnold has a second passion - working as fisherman on rough waters, here around the Lofoten islands. © Corey Arnold

Photographer Corey Arnold is based in Portland, Oregon - but every couple of months, he is drawn to the high seas. Actually, he works as a tough fisherman off the shores of Alaska or on the icy waters of the Barents Sea. What started as a summer job grew into a habit in love and hate… How adventurous! Quartered on board in Alaska, he lets PingMag make a close call with the wild. Hello little sea creatures!

Written by Verena

Peace and quiet: Aesthetic composition with fishnets while around the Finnmark. © Corey Arnold

First, of all possible jobs, how did you end up having a summer job on a fisherman’s boat? What was the thrill, or was it something like “The Old Man and the Sea…?”

It all started with my personality as a kid: I was crazy about exploring, travelling, and hanging out with animals. Well, killing and dissecting animals like birds, rabbits, squirrels, lizards, and especially sea creatures. I wanted to know how everything in the world looked on the inside and out, I was a curious and brutal little feller. Meanwhile my dad was a sport fishing addict. We would go fishing in the waters off of California nearly every weekend and I’d be surfing during the days in between. So in a way, I grew up on the sea.
After my first year of college in 1995, I drove to Alaska in search of a summer job. I’d always heard about the opportunities for fast money in the Alaskan fishing industry, so I set out to find out for myself. It wasn’t as if I went there just for the money, but the idea of making good money and doing something I love sounded too good to be true… And I quickly landed a job as a salmon fisherman: I think I made about $1,500 in six weeks. In retrospect, it wasn’t much money but I was getting paid for the biggest adventure of my life!

Getting in touch with weird looking sea creatures, during crab fishing on the Bering Sea. © Corey Arnold

And why are you still so drawn to it for all these years?

I came back every summer for five years to salmon fish while I was going to college. Afterwards, I took a few years off to work as a photo assistant in San Francisco. It was quite brutal to get started there with little cash, so I decided to take off again for Alaska. This time, I set out for a riskier job that was more lucrative, and at the same time, something that I’d like to work on as a photography project. Then in 2002, I began working in the Bering Sea aboard the crab fishing boat “Rollo.”
It took a lot of time to gain the respect of the other fisherman and work my way into the position I have now.

Also on the Bering Sea: “There is this feeling of accomplishment after surviving every 20-hour work day in huge seas,” says Corey. © Corey Arnold

Meaning when you came there for the first time, I guess the fishermen didn’t understand why you would want to do the job. How was your relationship in the beginning?

I’m assuming that you think fisherman are made of a certain mould and that I wouldn’t fit in because I’m kind of an arty photographer person - but there is a surprisingly diverse group of people on fishing boats: I found a very creative, smart, like-minded Norwegian skipper and we connected instantly. Though there were problems with some of the other crew members. One guy was just a hater in general, and another disliked me because he thought I was getting paid too much for my experience level… But the new guy always has to deal with a certain amount of abuse in this career. If you don’t toughen up real quick, you won’t make it.

On the high seas, it can get pretty lonely… Thank god there is something to grab around! But… That is Corey, by the way. © Corey Arnold

How do they regard you now?

Luckily, the foul member of the crew was let go after a couple of years. It came down to a either I go or he goes situation. Now I work with three middle-aged guys and one smart young dude. I’m a little different since I’m not really up on the Nascar and Football gossip, but I get a lot of head nods from people here because of my photos and stories written in National Fisherman Magazine and Alaska Fisherman’s Journal. People know that that’s my thing, and they respect that.


… getting to close could be dangerous… In the Bering Sea. © Corey Arnold

For sure. We’d like to get back to your habit of going there every year. Is it becoming some kind of addiction to go back into this wilderness…?

The hard physical work? The freedom of being in the midst of the ocean? I only planned to crab fish for two years, but now I’m beginning my sixth! It’s certainly an addiction. It’s a love/hate relationship…

Tell us more, please…

To be on the water in hurricane force winds and witness forty foot breaking seas first hand from a small boat is a life changing experience. The cold, the long hours and backbreaking work will bring you to your knees begging for mercy, but overall, it’s not a negative experience… unless you sink. I like to think of this job not as a gruelling and painful and dangerous existence, but more of an education. There is this feeling of accomplishment after surviving every 20-hour work day in huge seas. It’s made me a stronger, more confident person back home. There is a certain level of invincibility among crab fisherman and you’ll see that first hand at local bar fights. Also, being a harvester of wild sustainable food feels important. That’s certainly more necessary to human existence than a job as a video game designer. Not that I have anything against them - I’m just not a fan of sitting in front of a screen of any kind.

Arctic plains - filled with drying fish… © Corey Arnold

And yet, isn’t there something that is holding you back from going there again?

I’m doing this interview from my boat in Alaska right now. And I’m still working as a fisherman, only now the photography has become much bigger. I’m juggling dual careers and intertwining them together. Dutch Harbor, Alaska in a way, feels like home. Here I’m surrounded by friends and like-minded adventurers, good hard working folks - and a fair share of knuckleheads to keep things interesting.

Everybody has his/her fleet and direct access to the open-air garage. At the Lofoten islands. © Corey Arnold

Apart from Alaska, where have you sailed so far?

I’ve been in Alaska three to four months every year, altogether fishing for six years now and, on top of that, five summers fishing salmon. Besides the Bering Sea, I’ve spent quite a bit of time photographing Norwegian fisherman in the Barents Sea just near the border with Russia.

Lonely (water) planet. Around the Lofoten islands. © Corey Arnold

So you got around quite a bit in the cold sea! What was the most remarkable experience you had doing this job? I mean, apart from making you stronger, did all this change the way you perceive your body?

When I started crab fishing, it was a race to catch all we could in a 4- to 10-day period. My body has survived exhaustion that I never thought possible. We used to average three to five hours of sleep a day and work for nineteen hours or more. There was no excuse to slow down if you had a fever or were seasick, or pulled a muscle in your arm. We would just power through the pain. All that adrenaline makes it hard to wind down at days end and creates some outrageous dreams if you are able to sleep at all.

“There was no excuse to slow down if you had a fever or were seasick, or pulled a muscle in your arm,” recalls Corey. © Corey Arnold

Oh! What would you do to fall asleep then? We’re curious about what fishermen do in their evenings, like watching movies…?

We watch a lot of movies, or read books. Actually, we watch a lot of sappy romance dramas… Lost in Translation is a boat favourite! Sleep time is precious and I try to jump into the sack as quick as possible. Then I expect to lay awake for fifteen minutes buzzing and replaying the day’s close calls in my mind. Then I count crab to fall asleep.

Corey explains: “… it was a race to catch all we could in a 4- to 10-day period. My body has survived exhaustion that I never thought possible…” Around the Finnmark. © Corey Arnold

Sweet! Now, how is it to work with fish?

Mostly I work with crab these days but we do use thousands of pounds of cod and herring for bait. The crab aren’t very fast moving when on land so it’s easy to grab them without getting pinched. I like working with sea creatures dead or alive. It’s nice to be in touch with the natural world.

“Lost in Translation” is a boat favourite in the evenings! Around the Lofoten. © Corey Arnold

Well, others would say that and simply pat their pets… How does it feel when you touch them?

I don’t quite know how to answer this question. Fish are gooey and slippery and hard to hold onto. Crabs are spiny, easy to grab and hurt when you stab yourself with a spine - which happens constantly. It doesn’t weird me out or anything…


Workmanlike eviscerating… © Corey Arnold

… in the Finnmark. © Corey Arnold

And what is your greatest fear while being on board, in the midst of the ocean?

My biggest fear is being crushed by a crab pot. It’s far easier to be smashed by a 1,000 pound swinging crab pot then to fall overboard. I’ve had dozens of close calls but avoided serious injury so far. I worry most about the freak accidents that can’t be anticipated, such as a line snapping or mechanical malfunction. The longer I do this job, the less fear I have of accidents. Safety becomes second nature.


Tough work looking so romantic! Around the Finnmark. © Corey Arnold

Were there any difficult situations so far? Such as storms, severe accidents…

Major storms hit us on a weekly basis and we generally fish through the storms because there are just too many of them. The biggest waves I’ve seen were over forty feet, but we are consistently fishing in 20-foot seas and we’re pretty safe on the “Rollo.” I had no major accidents except when I nearly blinded myself by dumping engine degreaser into my eyes. However, some real bad things happen to people every season. Watch Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel to learn more about that. They love to talk up the high death and injury rate of crab fishing.

Sounds pretty dangerous though… Apart from fishing, what are your next projects?

Next fall, I’ll be having a two-person show with Cody Hudson in Chicago, and perhaps a solo exhibition in Portland, Oregon. Also I’ll be having my debut New York City solo in March 2009 at Sara Tecchia Roma New York I may begin photographing some other fisheries in Alaska as well as whaling in Norway. Someday, i hope to get out on some Russian boats…

Group picture including loads of crabs and Corey Arnold on the far right. Cosy! In the Bering Sea. © Corey Arnold

Why Russian boats? And how would you deal with the language…?

I got to tour a Russian trawler that was docked in Northern Norway a couple of years ago. The ship was built in 1988, yet the controls and electronics had the rounded style of a 1940’s or 50’s ship. It was covered in rust and filled with thirty rustic men wearing brandless, colourless clothes. The men were very poor and probably spent a good part of their year at sea making the owners rich while they didn’t even have enough money to eat one meal out in Norway! This is a new frontier for me to explore. Russians also have a bad reputation for poaching fish on the high seas… I’d love to get some insight on the inside from that. As far as the language, I supposed I’d have to have a translator along with me - but I like to travel alone. Hmmm, I haven’t started planning yet…

Making friends! On the Bering Sea. © Corey Arnold

If someone really wants some rough outdoor work, what would be your advice for this kind of job?

Take risks, don’t wait for a job to come your way! Go there and figure out how things work in Alaska. Work for free at first if you have too - whatever it takes to gain the knowledge to move up the ladder. Don’t expect to show up for a couple months, make a grip of cash and go home. It takes many years to get into a full share position where you start making a living. Be patient and stop complaining!

Well said! Thank you, Corey, for giving us insights in the rough and wild outdoor life on sea.

39 Comments

  1. haha the pictures are great! sounds like you have great adventures and see some amazing sites, good luck with them!

    Posted by: Jo-anne on February 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm

  2. the working fisherman.. what a great subject.

    Posted by: David Windham on February 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 am

  3. Hahaha I like the pictures, I wanna try this out. Fishing.

    Posted by: Francisco on February 24th, 2008 at 8:34 am

  4. Wowwwwwwww I like the pictures, I wanna try this out. Fishing.

    Posted by: Sohbet on February 24th, 2008 at 10:10 am

  5. Interesting.

    I don’t see how whaling is any different to this. I wonder if the people who complain about whaling are equally irate over fishing in general.
    Somehow I doubt it.

    Posted by: Ben on February 24th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

  6. A wonderful series of photographs. Corey is clearly very talented. Thank you, PingMag for publishing this.

    Posted by: Myke on February 25th, 2008 at 12:10 am

  7. Attn: Ben (above).
    You’re an idiot! whales are amazing creatures that are endangered. and yet Japan is still hunting them down for “research” delicious research I’ll bet. I love Japan and I haven’t yet met a Japanese person I dislike but seriously please stop killing whales, yes yes I know it’s not only Japan but you guys are pretty high up in the whale food chain.

    Posted by: amos on February 25th, 2008 at 7:51 am

  8. amos > Thanks for telling me I’m an idiot and backing up your opinion with many intelligent points. Why exactly are whales different from fish (apart from being mammals)? Japan believes it can continue whaling without destroying the populations just as any other country would continue fishing. For them, whales are a resource.

    I agree that the ‘research’ thing is a little dubious, but all this anti-whaling (more accurately anti-Japanese) sentiment from Australians and others is getting really tired. Most people have no idea of both sides of the argument, or the similar problems that their own countries have caused in the past, but are simply shouting like reactionary idiots.

    Posted by: Ben on February 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

  9. oh yes i was waiting for this..
    his pictures are so stunning great.

    thank you pingmag.
    xx

    Posted by: YAYOI on February 26th, 2008 at 2:24 am

  10. wow, awesome photos. I saw an article on corey before on fecalface.com and was gasping for more! great insight!

    Posted by: SkullOne on February 27th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

  11. [...] PingMag » Corey Arnold: Adventures On The High Seas In 2005 Corey received a grant from the American-Scandinavian Foundation to photograph fisherman and whalers in Northern Norway, a project that continues to this day. He talked about working as a fisherman in the rough sea while being an art photographer. (tags: pingmag CoreyArnold photography fishing sea art salmon crab alaska russia norway adventure life attitude experience gallery) [...]

    Posted by: links for 2008-02-29 « Hic Sunt Dracones on February 29th, 2008 at 4:19 pm

  12. Sugoi ne… I wanna go to Norway..

    Posted by: 悠 on March 3rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm

  13. rough life conditions makes those people tough and respectful. tey do this for living, not for fun. but seems to be there’s one being addicted to dead corpses… and others glorify freaks.
    I respect Japan very much, but I’m disgusted at whale and dolphin killers. Japanese are not starving any more. no excuses are accepted and some traditions has to be sacrified and forgotten for sake.

    Posted by: doesnotmatter on March 4th, 2008 at 6:07 am

  14. [...] pm · Filed under Uncategorized just came across Corey Arnold interview on PingMag - “Corey Arnold: Adventures On The High Seas“. I really like has work and previously posted a link to his portfolio. His style is very [...]

    Posted by: Lisenocalis on March 7th, 2008 at 9:38 am

  15. [...] Also on the Bering Sea: “There is this feeling of accomplishment after surviving every 20-hour work day in huge seas,” says Corey. © Corey Arnold Read the entire interview at Pingmag [...]

    Posted by: Corey Arnold of the F/V Rollo Photographs “Deadliest Catch” skippers for season 4 ad campaign « DEADLIEST REPORTS on March 16th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  16. haha, delicious research. Anyways it was weird when he was hugging that fish! and that animal jumping out of the water is kind of really scary looking. And now I’m hungry for fish!

    Posted by: angellesmelle on March 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 am

  17. thankss youu balkon camlama

    Posted by: cam balkon on January 2nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm

  18. thanks you

    Posted by: mirc on January 5th, 2009 at 5:24 pm

  19. thanks

    Posted by: mirc on January 5th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

  20. ofis mobilya büro mobilya ofis mobilyası

    Posted by: güney evciman on January 11th, 2009 at 7:26 am

  21. [...] a fascinating and challenging lifestyle, which he describes in detail in an interview with PingMag. Recently Arnold has been featured on the cover and in a spread of my favourite lit. magazine, The [...]

    Posted by: COREY ARNOLD FISHES | CODE FOR SOMETHING on January 20th, 2009 at 7:20 am

  22. Thanx you site admin
    salarha

    Posted by: salarha on February 6th, 2009 at 7:47 pm

  23. kıbrıs

    Posted by: kıbrıs eglence on April 19th, 2009 at 11:00 pm

  24. kurye

    thanks for sharing

    Posted by: kurye on May 8th, 2009 at 9:29 pm

  25. cam balkon ankara

    Posted by: cam balkon ankara on May 15th, 2009 at 12:35 am

  26. thanx admin

    Posted by: cam balkonn on May 31st, 2009 at 3:18 am

  27. Thanks a lot. keep it up.

    Posted by: HD LCD monitor on June 23rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm

  28. thank you for sharing,i like it

    Posted by: HD video camera battery on June 23rd, 2009 at 4:04 pm

  29. good pictures

    star magazin

    Posted by: starmagazin on June 29th, 2009 at 2:41 am

  30. good sharing, thank you.

    Posted by: mirc on November 16th, 2009 at 4:01 pm

  31. its very nice and amazing.

    Posted by: haber on November 26th, 2009 at 6:21 pm

  32. waw good thank you

    Posted by: mirc on November 29th, 2009 at 3:40 am

  33. I am curious to see what happens when I update the PC if it will end up messing something up in future updates

    Posted by: CinseL Sohbet on January 14th, 2010 at 2:25 am

  34. thanx admin good post

    Posted by: Sohbet on January 14th, 2010 at 2:27 am

  35. thank you admin good post…

    Posted by: mirc on January 14th, 2010 at 6:28 pm

  36. Hey, Thanks was just trying tofigure out how to build my on application.
    Nice starting point

    Posted by: evliler sohbet on January 23rd, 2010 at 10:48 pm

  37. resimler 10 numara yaa bayıldım :)

    Posted by: msn nicks on January 30th, 2010 at 3:30 am

  38. Very Nice Pictures! GREAT!

    Posted by: MSN Nicks on March 5th, 2010 at 5:03 am

  39. I learned to do it way back in high school with Flash 5, or turn off the music.
    It’s really good written and I fully agree with You on main issue, btw. I must say that I really enjoyed reading all of Your posts.

    Posted by: cinsel sohbet on March 11th, 2010 at 10:28 pm

  • Share and Enjoy:
  • del.icio.us
  • digg
  • Fark
  • NewsVine
  • RawSugar
  • Reddit
  • YahooMyWeb
Previously on PingMag
-->

Archives
Most Commented
    None found