How did you get that f*#king awesome job Jeremy Koreski?

Jeremy Koreski goes deep.
Jeremy Koreski goes deep.

His body of work spans decades, he’s worked with a huge range of respectable brands (Patagonia, Clifbar, Adidas, Sitka to name a few) and he’s one of Canada’s eminent surf photographer and videographers. These are all accolades that could swell any head or distract any big shot from the issues that matter in their home town.

But for Tofino, B.C.-based photographer Jeremy Koreski, an experience swimming in a pool of 15,000 salmon in a river on Vancouver Island, spurred him to take on a newer, and some would argue, more important project. Enter his photo book: This is Nowhere. A gorgeous, black, hard covered photo tome replete with lush greens, brilliant blues and deep oranges, the coffee table staple is part ode to life on British Columbia’s coast and part archive of the species that millennia-old, coastal ecosystems. Like me, Jeremy loves salmon and wants to share just how they are the backbone, the canary and the focal species of coastal communities and forest webs of life. 

“To me, salmon are some of the most inspiring creatures alive. Through the years, being able to have up-close experiences with them and other wildlife has made me realize that we need to do more to protect the natural world. I’ve come to believe that I need to use my photography to raise awareness of the many issues facing my home coast; that day in the river, I just kept thinking about how much we stand to lose interfering with cycles that have gone on for thousands, even millions, of years.”
– Introduction, This is Nowhere, page 11

I first encountered Jeremy’s work when I was obsessed with surf videos a few years back. His award winning profile of Tofino, B.C. champ Pete Devries for Innersection HERE and HERE were on repeat on my PC. His camera skills always shine an imitate light on the people, plants and animals of his home town and boy are we lucky that he’s willing to carry a camera wherever he goes, as he has done since he was a boy growing up on B.C.’s pacific rim.

I hope you enjoy today’s How did you get that f*#king awesome job. I feel that it’s privilege to read stories like Jeremy’s and look at his photos. In fact, I’d argue that This is Nowhere is the perfect Christmas gift, it was for me. A big thanks to my buds Eric & Kevin for sending me a copy of This is Nowhere.

One of the striking images from This is Nowhere.
One of the striking images from This is Nowhere.

So how did you get that f*#king awesome job? Can you describe what your job is and what it is that you do?

My job got me really. I’ve been a professional photographer for about 10 years now and specialize in outdoor / surf / fly fishing photography.

Did you have to give anything up to get here?

Not really.

Who or what has been your mentor/inspiration along the way?

There is a local painter in Tofino named Mark Hobson that I’ve looked up to for a long time. Growing up, he always had time to answer my questions about photography and I was inspired by his work.

In three words or less, what’s the best part of your job?

Photographing outdoors.

In three words or less, what’s the worst part of your job?

Photographing in rain.

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What did you want to be when you grew up?

A photographer.

What is your drink of choice?

I’ve been drinking a lot of red wine.

Where was the last place you travelled?

To a remote stretch of coastline on the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

What’s on your playlist right now?

Arcade Fire, Nils Frahm, WILDE, Alt-J

What are your top three reads vis a vis your career (books, magazines, manuals, podcasts)?

I am all over the map with reading…blogs, Tumblr posts, magazines…I don’t really have a top three, because I am always pulling inspiration from different material every day.

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Any advice for someone who’s looking to lock down their f*#king awesome job?

Find something you love doing and do it.

What does the future behold for your f*#king awesome job?

More conservation work. We need to wake up and start making major changes to the way we treat this planet.

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