In Focus: Cory Silken and the Storytelling Power of Marine Photography
These are the words of 11th Hour Racing Ambassador Cory Silken, a Rhode Island-based photographer who for the last 20+ years has dedicated his creative talents to telling stories from the ocean.
Whether it is capturing the history of classic yachts, the drama of sailboat racing, or the luxury of modern super yachts, Cory’s rare ability to find beauty and adventure in his imagery is world-renowned.
His fine art is on display at the Cory Silken Photography Gallery in Newport, and it doesn’t take long to look at his masterpieces to understand the depth, variety, and stories that he communicates through marine photography.
“The ocean is where I feel the most alive,” Cory says. “It offers a real combination of several genres of photography.
“You also have this blurring of genres between landscape and seascape. You’ve got this great expanse of the beauty of Mother Nature, combined with people who sail their boats in beautiful locations.
“I enjoy this challenge of shooting multiple genres, of keeping my mind fresh, and looking at things in so many different ways.”
His career path is no surprise as Cory jokes that his passion for sailing and the water “began before I was born”. Growing up in a family of sailors near Boston, his early adventures consisted of happy weekends on boats or hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire with his friends.
“The ocean is where I feel the most alive.”
Always wanting to share the beauty of where he was, he’d never go far without his camera hanging across his back. Fast forward a few decades and nothing has changed after first shooting a regatta at the start of the affordable digital technology boom in the early 2000s.
Today, together with his commercial responsibilities, another key feature of his inspiring work is his passion for sustainability and using his platform to highlight the effects of climate change.
“I often think about how I am contributing and giving back to the environment,” he says. “The ocean environment is one where you can very immediately see the changes day-to-day.
“I wanted to find a way to enhance people’s understanding of it, so I try to make the connection through my work and use my position in the marine industry to tell the story of what’s going on in our ocean.
“Beautifying people’s space and having an image on the wall for people to look at, think about, and maybe get lost in their minds, is of value.”
As an 11th Hour Racing ambassador since 2016, Cory has also been able to support many initiatives and programs that are striving to create meaningful change.
“Beautifying people’s space and having an image on the wall for people to look at, think about, and maybe get lost in their minds, is of value.”
One of his initial projects was to help document Draper Laboratory’s mission to create a real-time robotic microplastic sensor. Similar to the EPA having an air quality index, the Massachusetts-based research and development organization wanted to start a water quality index for plastics.
“We’d take water samples from different areas and see how much plastic was in it,” Cory remembers. “It was so neat to be involved as I have a degree in Economics of Environmental Science.”
Other projects have involved collaborating with the Mass Oyster Project, and more recently, the Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Academy who offer education sailing voyages to kids and young adults on a vintage 152ft vessel called Shenandoah.
“There are so many obvious actions we can take to improve sustainability and the Mass Oyster Project is a great reminder to look at how nature did it historically,” Cory says.
“Children are the changemakers of the future, and it gives me hope that people are out there pushing forward.”
“If we can reset some of these systems and allow them to exist and operate again naturally, we can create a lasting impact.”
With the MV Ocean Academy, Cory’s grant work supports the Academy in Martha’s Vineyard through their education program as they transitioned from having mass-produced large corporate food sources on board to local food sourced from farms on the island.
“I’m glad to be able to help these initiatives communicate their success with creative content, or in any way that I can,” Cory says.
“Children are the changemakers of the future, and it gives me hope that people are out there pushing forward.”
For Cory, he’s passionate to continue pushing forward telling important stories from the ocean. Keep up to date with his inspiring marine photography.
Hero image credit: ©CorySilken
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Jamie Haines, sailor “I grew up on the ocean, and in order to protect it, we need to solve the climate crisis. It all goes hand in hand.”
Ian Walsh, big wave surfer “As athletes, ocean health and sustainability are at the heart of what we do – without the ocean, we wouldn’t be here.”
Steve Benjamin, filmmaker “I really want people to fall in love with the ocean, to appreciate it more, and to try to alter their behavior around it. Everything ends up in the ocean, and it’s such a dumping ground for humanity. My hope is that people see the ocean as a living entity that needs to be protected.”
Amory Ross, storyteller “How can I describe the ocean? The ocean is impossible to describe because it is endless; it is full of life, wonder, and mystery.”
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