As long as there’s fish in the sea

I’m not quite sure what it is that makes me photograph fishing boats and fishermen, but I have a hunch why I do it. I have the highest respect for fishermen and they are important for this part of the world since that’s how many people here make a living. The fishermen and I spend an equal amount of time looking out into the sea, and we keep the same hours. Yes, I usually wake up really early, I both like and need it. And also, the fishing boats are usually around when I photograph surfing, and I’m a restless photographer so I take pictures of everything that’s around. While I was photographing surfing in Edava, Kerala I also during one hour took pictures of a wedding couple, fishermen and surfers, probably some birds and dogs too.

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After the tsunami, when I was in Kovalam in Kerala, where in the evening we used to see the lights from the fishing boats out in the sea. The locals used to call the lights from the boats “The Sri Lankan Highway” when tourists asked what road the lights they could see were coming from. After the tsunami there where no lights. I wondered what had happened to the fishermen, their boats and their families. A couple of days after the tsunami, when we were allowed back on the beach, I found a plastic rosary there that I still have. Maybe it belonged to a fisherman.

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On my first visit to Sri Lanka I got so happy when I stayed by the sea at a hotel in Hiriketiya and could see the lights from the fishing boats at night. The Sri Lankan Highway was back.