Hunting & Fishing British Columbia

Underwater camera offers glimpse of worlds we seldom see

Aug 06, 2019 Season 1 Episode 24

Robert Koopmans / Eiko Jones

Today I’m talking with Eiko Jones, a Campbell River-based photographer who specializes in underwater photography, especially of B.C.’s native fish species.

For most of us, the surface of a lake or river represents a divide between our world, the one above in the air and light, and a different world below. As anglers we try our best to learn and understand that world but to say we truly know it would be at best, hopeful. So few of us get the chance to put eyes in that world and see it firsthand.

So I was fascinated to come across Eiko’s website. For years, he has dived and snorkeled BC’s lakes, rivers and coastlines and photographed salmon and trout through all their stages of life. He has developed a unique understanding of fish that can only come from being below the surface, in their world.

Most recently, Eiko has expanded into video and cinematography and is currently shooting footage for a full-length film about salmon and their cycles of life. Called Heartbeat of the River, the movie is due to be released early next year.

I talked with Eiko recently about his photography, his movie project, as well as about the state of salmon in BC …



Anyone with an interest in fish should have a look at Eiko’s photography, which you can find on his website at www.eikojonesphotography.com. His photos of alevins, fry, smolts and spawning adults are impressive, and reveal a frailty and vulnerability that never dawned on me before. His pictures of underwater environments, taken as other photographers might frame a landscape, offer new perspectives on mysterious worlds.