STEVE BELAS CO
How a former press snapper is capturing the Jurassic Coast from a fresh angle – offshore
Steve is capturing the Jurassic Coast from a whole new angle
Name: Steve Belasco
Location: Dorset, England
Subject: Views of the coastline taken from the sea Equipment: Nikon D800 with Nikon 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 G, 35-70mm f/2.8 D and 80-200mm f/2.8 D ED lenses
Website: www.jurassicphotographic.com
IF you think you have a hard time taking sharp photos on dry land, imagine what it’s like to shoot from the deck of a constantly rocking boat. But keeping a camera steady is only half the battle, as Steve Belasco explains.
Steve spent nearly 20 years as a provincial press photographer, but took the decision to make a ‘sideways’ move. He now works full-time as a sub-editor in South Dorset. “Photography is in my veins, though,” he admits. “My other half suggested that I should combine it with my passion for boating, so I resolved to spend as much of my spare time as possible documenting our Jurassic Coast from seaward. Five years on, I have more than 3,000 images on my website, all shot from my ‘cosmetically-challenged ’20 ft motorboat.
“As you’d expect, shooting solo on a small boat presents various challenges – primarily, not drowning! Often I’ve looked around after squinting through the viewfinder to find myself drifting uncomfortably close to the rocks. And more than once I’ve brought ‘Strange Weather’ back to her berth well after dark, after enjoying a sunset for too long. Then there are fog banks... But safety always comes first.”
Shooting from a moving platform brings its own technical challenges, too. “Boats move in all dimensions – they pitch, yaw and roll – and small boats do it more. The len’s image stabliser can’t cope, so shutter speed is everything, and that means I’m typically shooting wide open. That, in turn, tests lens quality, and often means upping the ISO more than I’d like. And sea water is a never-ending challenge; I discard my protection filters at least once a year…”
But Steve wouldn’t have it any other way. “The rewards are legion,” he enthuses. “Just take the wildlife – a family of dolphins playing round the boat or a flock of common scoter arrowing past at zero altitude; and finding myself in the right place at the right time, like unexpectedly catching coast runners on a chilly December morning, momentarily transforming what was a decent coastscape into a striking one.”