BRAVING storms at sea was a life-gamble that paid off for an Innerleithen photographer – who captured himself a national award.

Gareth Easton rode the waves of the British coast, photographing the hardship and danger inherent in commercial fishing.

When the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society challenged the nation’s photographers to illustrate Britain’s relationship with the sea, Gareth jumped on board.

He has been capturing the salt-drenched men and women of the sea for a number of years, after being commissioned by Seafish to document the fishing industry in the UK from net to plate.

He told us: “The commission took me all over Scotland and the North of England. From fish markets to processing and packing factories. Part of the work involved time at sea documenting the catching of fish.”

During his first trip to sea in July 2016 on Peterhead white fish trawler, the Budding Rose, Gareth spent eight days embedded with the crew between Norway and the Shetland Islands.

He said: “It was amazing, but photography on board a commercial fishing trawler is incredibly tough. It’s a horrible environment for expensive equipment and the photographer himself. Having no prior experience at sea, I was lucky to find out that I don’t suffer from sea sickness.”

Gareth’s pictures show a world of hard labour, long nights, grubby overalls and skies as dark as the sea.

“Life onboard is an endless cycle hauling the nets, gutting and storing the fish, eating and sometimes sleeping.

“It is not uncommon to only get three to four hours sleep before returning to the nets.”

It’s been a costly job in more ways than one for the daring photographer, who estimated his insurance claims from sea trips to be in the region of £3,000.

“On my first trip out from Peterhead in the first two days at sea, I smashed two lens and a camera body and suffered a severely bruised arm from an altercation with a bulkhead door.”

But broken equipment became the least of Gareth’s worries, after a frightening experience stranded in the open ocean.

“On my second trip out of Peterhead in October of last year the trawler I was on broke down 120 miles off shore. The engine couldn’t be restarted. It took 27 hours for us to be towed back to harbour.”

Gareth’s photography, tracing the everyday lives of this treacherous business, has taken him on many trips aboard Scallop dredgers, prawn and creel boats.

But it was in February this year, he would dice with death to hook his winning shot, which depicts the masters of the ocean in the luminous, threatening swell of life at sea.

“I spent another five days onboard a white fish trawler, the Guardian Angell LK 272 north of the Shetland Islands. That was my first experience of a force 10 storm. It was on that trip that I shot the winning image of Lee Oldie hauling the rope.

“It has been pretty gruelling and difficult at times. The main challenge is to keep the equipment dry and safe from impact while trying to remain upright and on board on boats rocking at 45 degrees.

“With that said, it is great to have my efforts recognised with this national award.”

After being stranded at sea, almost hurtled overboard, injured, and breaking his expensive equipment – you wouldn’t blame Gareth for abandoning ship in favour of photography on the shore.

But he doesn’t scare easily and, proving it’s a ‘fishermen’s life for him’, Gareth continued his odyssey at sea by boarding a creel boat in Fife this week, hoping for another fine catch.

For more of Gareth’s Fishing work visit https://www.garetheastonphotography.com/fishing-work