Corey Arnold

"Corey is a photographer and Alaskan commercial fisherman. From 2003-2010 he worked as a deckhand on the Bering Sea crabber f/v Rollo and more recently, captains a wild salmon gillnetting operation in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The off season is filled with travel, gallery exhibitions, magazine and ad photography assignments mixed with a bit of backyard gardening, cat maintenance, and skateboarding in Portland, Oregon.

He is currently working on a life long project entitled FISH-WORK which chronicles the commercial fishing lifestyle throughout the world. In 2010, a PEW foundation commission led to the Fish-Work Europe series, photographing aboard fishing vessels in eight European countries. in 2005, he received an American Scandinavian Foundation grant to photograph the fishermen and whalers of Northern Norway. Corey was recently nominated for the Aperture West Book Prize and the Santa Fe Prize for Photography, and named one of PDNs 30 for 2009. His pictures have been featured in The Paris Review, Esquire, Whitewall, Artweek, Outside, American Photo, Juxtapoz and many others"

This dude is awesome and I mean seriously awesome. If that info from his website www.coreyfishes.com isn't enough proof then just check out these breathtaking images.











I love his work not only due to it's beauty but due to the fact that it shows a lot of the behind the scenes imagery of Bering Sea fishers. We've all seen or heard of the television show The Deadliest Catch that depicts crab fishermen risking their lives in the Bering Sea, but what I like about Arnold's images is that he brings a humor to the stressful lives of these men.





And then there's the extreme humor...

Creep

Lately I've been getting the feeling that my work has been pretty... eery and lonely. To tell you the truth, I love it. It reminds me of the feeling you get when you're depressed and for some reason you want to listen to sad music or watch a sad romance (not that a manly man like myself would ever do such a thing). I think it's a sort of healing process, a purging of emotions. But damn, that feeling of unrest, I just can't get it out of my head. I mean, I'm a happy guy... most of the time. It's odd to say but I find a sort of comfort in it.

So I've decided to jump into it some more with the current series I've taken on. While it's still untitled, I've decided to give everyone a little sneak peak (old and new work) into my process and search for solace.

Urban Suburbia

San Fransico based photographer Todd Hido's work "involves urban and suburban housing revealing the isolation and anonymity in contemporary suburbia. Eerily lit rooms and suddenly abandoned homes increase the effect of loneliness and loss." Hido's work has always struck me as some of the most elegantly made photographs I've ever seen. His work truly does create a sense of loneliness and sadness. In the video below you can see Hido's process in photographing and some discussion on his work.

Behind the Scenes w/ Todd Hido:




Through the incredible blog/website BOOOOOOOM! I came across Barcelona based artist and photographer Emil Kozack and was immediately reminded of the similarities between his and Hido's work.

I especially enjoy his work titled "Big Black Nothing" which can be seen on his website linked above. In this series Kozack says that " It's basically walking until i get scared or cant go any further... take the photo and go back."























Kozack from "Big Black Nothing"

Below I'll show you a few images from each artist to illustrate the similarities in their work.

Todd Hido

















Emil Kozack

















Todd Hido

















Emil Kozack


It appears as though in both Hido and Kozack's work sadness and loneliness are reoccurring themes. Even in Hido's portraiture you can sense despair and desolation within the subjects. Not only do their themes overlap but their shooting style has a few similarities. Whether it be composition or subject matter they both show great skill and especially in their lighting. The quality of light in both of their work is what truly impresses me and even further embodies the sadness in the work.