We’re looking forward to fisherman and photographer Corey Arnold’s upcoming exhibition “Wolf Tide” at the Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica – the opening reception is from 5:00 to 7:00 on Saturday, February 25th, and the show runs through March 31.

Since we spend a lot of time promoting (and eating) wild Alaskan seafood, we think this is a unique way to get a fisherman’s perspective of his work through photography. We had a chance to get to know Corey a bit better this past week…

Corey started fishing when he was still in diapers, growing up fishing every weekend with his father. He told us that “the desire to be out and away at sea ran deep.” for Corey, photography began as “a means or an excuse to go and explore new subjects, search for the unknown, and meet interesting characters along the way. I always wanted to work as a commercial fisherman where I could work in blocks of time, and spend the rest of my year exploring and making photographs.  Nowadays though, the photo and fishing often happen at the same time.”

As a commercial fisherman who is also an artist, Corey bridges the gap between work and art behind his lens.  “I feel fortunate that my captain aboard the f/v Rollo, a Bering sea crab boat that I worked on for seven years was a creative guy that gave me leeway to snap photos here and there.  The fishing work always came first, but when I had an opportunity to take a few minutes to snap a roll of film, it was encouraged.  I think I was lucky to be able to combine the two and now that I run my own salmon boat in Alaska, there is no one to tell me to put down the camera!”

His crew doesn’t seem to mind. “My crew is like a family, so there may be the usual friendly harassment that is to be expected, but mostly the other crewman enjoy being photographed, or at least they enjoy having photos of themselves looking manly and heroic while getting thrashed in heavy seas.  They do it for the ladies,” he jokes.

What’s on Corey’s dinner table these days? Chowder! “I’m a huge fan of salmon chowder lately.  Chowder made with coconut milk, chicken broth, some bacon and smoked oysters is my favorite. Second place goes to King Crab ceviche, Eric Nyhammer from the f/v Rollo makes the worlds best King crab ceviche.”

Corey’s show at the Richard Heller Gallery is his largest solo exhibition to date, and includes a lot of new work that he’s very proud of.  “Most of the images are a sort of behind the scenes from my journeys at sea working and documenting commercial fishing around the world.  My new book, Fish-Work: The Bering Sea will be on display, and Richard Heller is a really nice guy.  Say hello if you stop by.”

The Richard Heller Gallery is located at 2525 Michigan Ave, B-5A in Santa Monica.