A 24-hour workday. Ruined equipment. Freezing weather. Danger of injury. Seasickness. It's all in a day's work for a camera operator on Discovery's hit reality show, Deadliest Catch. This Emmy-winning series, now in its fifth season, follows five crab-fishing vessels on the Bering Sea doing one of the deadliest jobs in the world. And for the camera operators that capture the action, their job isn't a whole lot safer.

Eric Lange, who has worked as a producer, camera operator and editor on the series, admits this isn't your typical dream job. "You definitely need commitment to go into this type of production. I've been hit by waves, gotten bruised ribs, sprained ankles. Some of the other production crew have had broken ribs and smashed their teeth – stuff like that." But in spite of or maybe because of the challenges, Lange returns to the job season after season. "I love it. I enjoy being able to hear others' stories and to tell those stories."

As an experienced veteran of reality shows like Axe Men, Lange says Deadliest Catch has some unique challenges. "Your set is bobbing around in 20-40 foot seas, and if you go off the boat, your chances of survival are slim to none at best. You're out on the Bering Sea, so if something happens, equipment-wise or personally, you're not getting any attention quickly. There's always the aspect of danger there."

The production crew undergoes training before setting foot on board the ships. But not only are they preparing themselves, they’re also preparing their gear. Life on the Bering Sea is not kind to the video equipment. Lange explains, “When the wind’s blowing 40 knots, it just picks the water up off the surface and blows it in the air. There’s moisture everywhere. Electrical equipment doesn’t work well in salt water. Anywhere you have an electrical current, you’re going to get ionization and corrosion. We’re constantly cleaning the cameras up.”

To fight the continual moisture problems at sea, crew members work hard to waterproof the cameras. Sealing with silicone, wrapping with electrical tape and covering with waterproof bags are just some of the measures taken to protect the cameras. Lange has his own system. “I use a matte box to keep water off the lens. I’ll then bag mine in a 20 gallon waterproof river bag. I’ll customize that for my camera because I need to have my hands on the controls, and I need it to be fairly waterproof.”

But even the extensive protection the production crew gives the cameras doesn’t ensure their longevity. “Each boat loses on average at least one camera a season, sometimes multiple cameras. This year, we lost two cameras. A big wave came on the boat, and, well, you just can’t save them. And I think the ice claimed another one of our cameras that was mounted. It doesn’t matter how well you have the cameras sealed up, the moisture is going to get in there,” Lange says. On average, only a third of the cameras sent to sea return home in working condition.

Once the fishing boats set sail, the production crew, consisting of a producer and camera operator on each ship, has to adjust to their new home and its constant rolling. That’s not easy. “Some of our cameramen haven’t gotten their sea legs the entire trip, and spend the whole time out seasick and getting beat up. Usually though you have to shoot and produce through four days or so of sickness, and then you come out of it.” But sea sickness isn’t the only frustration from the rolling seas. “You never set your coffee cup down. The first couple days I was on the boat, I don’t think I had a cup of coffee that I didn’t spill on myself,” says Lange ruefully.

When the fishing action gets underway and intense, the video crew rarely has the option to work a simple 12-hour day. The action can unfold day or night, and they must be prepared to capture it. Lange explains, “We have to be up just as much as, if not more than the fishermen, because we have to get ourselves up before they get up so we can get ready, and then we’re on deck with them all the time, and then when they go down, we usually film them going down at the end of their workday. The workday can last 20-30 hours, and in extreme situations, it can be 40 hours. Four or five days of that, and you’re just delirious.”

Long work hours are compounded by weather challenges. As the fishing season progresses, the temperature on the Bering Seas starts dropping…and that persistent spray of moisture becomes a never ending battle against ice. “We’re constantly blow drying our lenses. The temperature change is so drastic, you can’t always keep your lens tempered. Even if you keep it outside, your lens can’t keep up with the temperature drop. It will drop 10-20 degrees in a matter of a half hour. Your lens can’t adapt that quickly, so it will frost up,” says Lange.

To capture the action both on deck and in the wheelhouse, each ship is equipped with 6-8 cameras, mainly Sony’s HVR-Z7s and HVR-Z1Us. There are also several SplashCam Deep Blue cameras used for underwater shots. These underwater cameras rotate between the video crews on the different ships. Two or more cameras with 4-hour load tapes are usually mounted on the ship’s deck above potentially high action spots and are kept constantly rolling. This ensures that even if the cameraman is busy changing batteries when a crab pot comes crashing down, it’ll all still be caught on tape.

Because the camera operator has to simultaneously frame a shot, keep an eye out for danger and try to stay balanced on a rolling (and sometimes icy) deck, shooting exclusively with the viewfinder can be difficult. Some of the cameramen prefer using the flip out monitor just so they can stay on top of their surroundings – but not Lange. “I don’t like using the window – it’s a weak point that can get knocked off. Also, it gets water droplets on it, and you can’t tell whether the water is on the lens or just the monitor”

But he also prefers using the eyepiece for aesthetic reasons. “I like the way the fishermen treat me when I’m using the viewfinder. I have the camera so much, they forget I have it, and they look right down the barrel of the lens when they talk to me. It gives more of a personal feel and it makes the viewer feel like they’re on the boat and are more involved in the show.”

Competing lighting sources is another production challenge, especially once night falls. “You have three to four temperatures on the deck. It’s hard, at night, with that many color temperatures, to keep it in the middle. With the sodiums, it starts looking really orange. With the halogens and other lights, the temperature fluctuates between 2600K to 4600K…it’s a weird color temperature.” To compensate, the cameramen use presets and try to white balance as best they can.

Lighting is also an issue in the wheelhouse. At the beginning of the trip, Lange will put ND gels on the wheelhouse windows in such a way as to make the windows look professionally tinted. “We need to kick those windows down a third of a stop. These cameras have a pretty wide range, so if you can keep the gels on the windows without the captain noticing, you’ll be able to get a happy medium where he is exposed well and the outside is exposed well.”

But the added lighting and gels aren’t always appreciated. “We put a little light on the captain as well. The problem is that when they’re fishing, the light creates a reflection on the window that makes it hard for them to see their buoys, so it’s hard for them to fish. It’s a battle for us to figure out how to make that work while not getting in the way of what they’re doing. The captains need to look out their windows, and they don’t like it when they feel like they can’t see.”

But in spite of the injuries, the headaches and the cold weather, Lange loves the job. “Every year when the season is over, I’m ready to go home. And then when the next year rolls around, I’m ready to go out there again. It’s a weird thing. You have to be a little bit warped to be out there, that’s for sure,” he laughs.