Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers are well underway this fall season, on the grounds working hard. No pain no gain at sea! The Pacific Northwest up to Alaska fishing grounds are known for its strikingly unique yet rugged beauty, in terms of both nature and the hearts and minds of the great people who call it home. Jeff Pond is one of those people, and he’s taken a personal journey over the last two years through the world of photography. “I started playing around with camera’s during the summer when my family and I would make frequent weekend trips. We made a lot of trips to Mount Rainier, Mount Saint Helens and the Cascade mountains,” Pond says. “Photographing landscape scenes is what got me to dive into photography. “
F/V Pinnacle
More recently, Jeff has taken a shine to photographing the vessels of the Pacific Fishermen Shipyard, a place he holds in extremely high personal regard. Pond remarks “Being able to photograph these boats and their repairs plus have the chance to meet some of these legendary fishermen is more then I could ever have asked for.” He has been taking countless snaps of the boats that call Pac Fish home for nearly a year now- and recently made the trip all the way up to Dutch Harbor, Alaska to see just how hard these boats work when they’re working off the coast of SE Alaska.
F/V Wizard & Crew
“It’s been an honor to see these boats go through major repairs and then to be up in Dutch and see what they are made of,” Pond notes. ” I wanted to photograph the beauty of Alaska with these hard working boats and fishermen. For me, it’s a tribute to all their hard work, and I would love more and more people to see what these guys and boats endure for this food that we love so much.”
F/V Amatuli
Pond’s style, as described by him, is a bit unique.”It’s a style that not a lot of people use and I’m not too sure if I have seen anyone else use this style in the commercial fishing industry. It’s a technique that I stumbled across and really do like. I like this certain technique because in my eyes it makes these hard working, beat up looking boats look peaceful and calm. It gives a look like a painting with some of the photos.”
“My top 3 things to photograph are as follows. Commercial Fishing Boats, Commercial Fishing Boats and Commercial Fishing Boats.” Pond jokes, “No, Commercial Fishing Boats would be my first. Sunsets, Sunrises, and finally any nature landscape with wildlife.”
F/V Scandies Rose
Jeff’s work has many inspirations, but they’ve changed and become more nuanced as his volume of work has continued to grow. “The most inspirational people for me to photograph in the beginning where definitely 2 crews/boats from Deadliest Catch. But since I have been doing photos with Pac Fish and had to have the chance to meet a bunch of these other crews, I would say it’s all the fishermen, their boats and stories that inspire me. Any time I get a chance to step aboard these boats I feel like a kid in a candy store and that’s where most of the inspiration comes from.”
F/V Arctic Lady
Jeff hopes to both bring & keep awareness of what the fishing community is all about. “We have a rich history of it hear in Ballard and hopefully people can come to enjoy it through our photos. I would also like to thank everyone at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard for giving me this opportunity to share with the public.” With work as good as his, it’s hard not to want to take him up on his offer.
F/V Northwestern
If you’d like to get ahold of Jeff or see more of his images:
Jeff Pond on Facebook
More current and updated photos on Jeff Pond’s Flickr.
Email: [email protected]
Thank you for sharing your trip to Dutch Harbor with us, Jeff!
