going to sea with fishermen

If you do use a Nikonos -- and they're brilliant -- favour high shutter speeds over small apertures because the shutter release is an invitation to shake. Alas my Nikonos is now at the bottom of the sea after lending it to a butterfingered friend.

As for the project: you're braver than I, and I salute you. It takes me 3 days to get my 'sea legs'. Days 1-3 I can throw up on a millpond. After that, no problem, no matter how rough the weather.

Like others, I look forward to your pics. I doubt (with some experience of small boats, though none of photographing fishing) that anything longer than 58mm will be very useful, though you might get some wonderful 'working' portraits with the 58mm.

Bonne courage!

R.
 
I still have very vivid memories of an overnight trip as a deckhand on a scow (meaning flat-bottomed fish tender) in Bristol Bay, Alaska, in the early 1970s. There were five foot swells, which was more than enough to make the scow bob and shake, w/ the same effects on my stomach. My camera never made it out of my bag. Good luck to you! You take great pictures, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the results of your adventure!
 
Advice from a former Royal Marine :- If the Skipper says 'jump' you say how high.
If the skipper says 'eff off ' you say 'how far'
and if the skipper says 'oh for fxxks sake' ....you've fallen overboard.

Seriously if your not 'clipped on' (unlikely on a working boat) ALWAYS one hand for the boat and the other for you (and your camera)
'Good Hunting'.
 
Going by your previous work, I cannot wait for the images from this project. all the best and take care.
 
You're very lucky, I've been photographing for a project on the British as a seafaring nation for over a year. How we relate to the coast and sea, how we use it for leisure and industry etc. The hardest thing I've found is to get a place on a trawler of some description.

Sounds like you've had some good advice here, Emraphoto should certainly be worth sounding out on this subject. He's got some great pics on his site from his time doing something similar.

Good luck, enjoy your experience and I join the others in looking forward to seeing some of your pictures.
 
I worked a dragger of similar size during college summers. That thing is going to roll every which way in a seaway (swell/waves). You ain't headed for the Caribbean, either...

People are different about mal de mer. Not for sure - but very likely- you will be completely incapacitated for days. You'll be so sick that you'll ask the Captain for a medevac helicopter.

About the time you look in the mirror and see your anus sitting your tongue, you'll get very, very hungry and be able to eat greasy bacon and eggs standing on your head. You'll climb the rig and touch the truck in a seaway (bring your camera with the wide angle) and wonder how you could have been so foolish. The crew will stop avoiding you.

I get it every time I go out (though much less than the first time), if I haven't been on the water recently. Drugs don't work for me - I hate how 'gummy' they make my head; makes it worse for me. Ginger does help me - Ginger Ale, ginger cookies, etc...

A lot of experienced mates get it a little bit, if they've lost their legs. The best thing is to keep busy on deck or in the wheelhouse. That gets me through it the lightest and quickest. Most don't know I'm feeling it. Plan for a couple discrete hurls and keep your hands and mind working. Stay busy. Driving the boat is the best task - eyes are on the horizon and you're distracted doing something.

Most newbies will be in the rack, which may make them feel better, but it also seems to prolong the misery.

You'll dehydrate at sea, particularly when seasick. Drink a lot of water - until your pee is clear 2X.

I'm not sure how fit you are, but working a fishing boat in a seaway is the most exhausting thing I've ever done. It's not so bad in the calm, but your waters are not known for calm and your skipper is going to fish that boat around the clock in seas that will make you think they're all mad (they are). He will also ask you for help and 30 hours of picking fish on deck might test your fitness. You might get a few times in the gym to wake your body up.

Expect your gear to get destroyed, either by knocks or seawater. I'd call it an expendable cost. The pics will be priceless to you.

Let me know if they have an empty berth, will you?

Good fishing!

- Charlie
 
Last edited:
I wish you good luck. It will be so interesting. Please, let us know
how your cameras performed (and if they survived).

Best,
Pau
 
yep 😀 I will have some backup but I don't really know how they will behave

bessa%20R%20chevaux%2050%20cv006.jpg


camera to use and some backup (the bessa R is missing, I needed it to take the picture) 😀

looks like lots of cameras, but I will only carry 1 or 2 at the same time, and a 24 m boat can hold a few more cameras 😀
 
Last edited:
Saw a documentation about fishing trawlers just this week. I know my stomach. I would be dead there. So I wish you all the best and hope you get the photos you think of.
 
What an adventure! I hope you get your "sea legs" quickly and enjoy the challenge. I'm put in mind of a rather tamer experience of a dinner excursion in Hawaii on a day when the water was rougher than usual. I could not watch the Hula girl, but needed to keep my eyes on the horizon... So I did get some shots of the sunset, the cruise ship steaming away, etc. I was glad to get terra firma under foot again after only a few hours. Have fun! 🙂
 
Just read my post and I hope it doesn't sound too grim. I still look back from my office on commercial fishing as the best job I ever had.

One of the great things on the boats are the cooks. We would bring sacks of fresh vegetables and seasonings (hey, where's the meat?) aboard and we'd pull a couple of choice bits from the catch and wok up a great stir fry (calm) or create some wild creole gumbo (rough weather). He fought his own boredom by getting 'creative' and would go all day 'surprising' the crew and make great snacks at night. It becomes the center of your life. May you be blessed with a good cook.

- Charlie
 
Last edited:
I was Ok, not sick

I left the boat on wenesday as they uloaded the fish for I had nearly no more film and the weather wasn't bad 😀. I plan to go on another boat soon.
I have to say the guyswere very nice , and it was a great experience

I will take some time to process and scan all the films

I already started

CV 35 2,5

trix3200xtol1et1chalutier001.jpg
 
bigeye said:
One of the great things on the boats are the cooks. We would bring sacks of fresh vegetables and seasonings (hey, where's the meat?) aboard and we'd pull a couple of choice bits from the catch and wok up a great stir fry (calm) or create some wild creole gumbo (rough weather). He fought his own boredom by getting 'creative' and would go all day 'surprising' the crew and make great snacks at night. It becomes the center of your life. May you be blessed with a good cook.
Click to expand...

Which is why, should the opportunity ever arise, you'd probably find me shooting in the galley, with color film.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom