SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY 29
PRESENTED BYPhotographer Tommy Corey didn’t know he
was a hiker at heart. He only discovered his love
of the trail just a few years ago. The journey it’s
taken him on since is one that has shaped the
course of his life and his career, and perhaps
spawned an entirely new form of art which
Corey lovingly refers to as “Hiker Trash Vogue.”
His photographs are now on sale through his
website and in a book by the same name.
His subjects are fellow hikers, those he’s met
along the trail who inspired him with their
vulnerability. There is a quality to his images
that’s captivating, perhaps because it’s
something that has become uncommon in our
society. The people in his photographs look
genuine. They have scratches, scars, tangles, and
emotions. They don’t look photoshopped and
their clothes weren’t inspired by the runway. Yet,
they appear high-fashion.
We spoke with Corey while he was hiking
Mount Laguna, a section of the Pacific Crest
Trail (PCT). We connected in a rare moment
when he had cell phone service and his voice
sounded as crisp as the mountain air through
which he hiked.
Innovation & Tech Today: What was your
motivation to start your first hike along the
Pacific Crest Trail?
Tommy Corey: I lived with a guy in Portland
who had hiked the Appalachian Trail and he was
gearing up for a 2017 hike up the PCT. So in
2016, he invited me. At that point I’d been
shooting a lot of weddings and was just... not in
the place I wanted to be with my career. I was
also bartending because work wasn’t consistent
enough.
So it was really like, “I just need a change; I
need to go find my creativity again.” I’ve been
shooting since I was 12, so photography is my
life. I’ve always wanted it to be something that
could just be a career and not have to do
anything else. I felt like hiking the trail might
bring me something different. It would
challenge me, obviously physically and mentally,
but also creatively.
I&T Today: You didn’t complete the PCT
on your first hike. Why did you return to it?
TC: I started with the intention of having a full
thru-hike, but it was a lot harder than I imagined
and I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I thought I
would. It’s funny; I was actually quite miserable
through most of it. My body hurt and I just felt
really out of shape. I did about 900 miles my
first time around.
When I got off the trail, after about two
months, I went home to Portland. And only a
few weeks went by and it was like, “Holy s***,
that was such an amazing experience. I wish I
would’ve stayed on trail.” That’s what made me
come back last year and do a full thru-hike. I re-
hiked those 900 miles and then did the entire
trail and had the most amazing time.I&T Today: What was your most valuable
piece of technology on the hike, other than
your camera?
TC: My camera [laughs]. I mean... my phone.
I edited all my pictures on my phone. I actually
toyed with the idea of shooting film on my thru-
hike last year, because I learned on film. I shot
film for probably six or seven years before I even
picked up a digital camera.I’m a self-taught photographer, so I toyed with
the idea of going back to my roots and shooting
film. But, I know myself too well and I’m very
impatient. I wanted that instant gratification,
knowing like, “Cool, I hiked 25 miles today and
I got some awesome photos.” I can sit in my tent
at the end of the night and edit those photos and
be really excited to show them to everyone the
next day.
Honestly, my project is probably the biggest
reason I finished the trail last year. It kept me so
motivated and it connected me with a lot of
hikers. As I got further along the trail, more and
more hikers would recognize me and want to be
part of it. It was just a really beautiful experience.
I&T Today: How did the trip help you to
better understand yourself as an artist?
TC: I always felt kind of, I guess, pompous
referring to myself as an artist because I was
always shooting weddings. I would do side
projects and take editorial style photos of people
in my real life because that’s how I like to
photograph. I’ve always liked fashion
photography, since I was a kid.
But as I got older, I went to school for a little
bit and studied fashion for a semester because I