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A new book celebrating the Jurassic Coast from an unusual perspective is the culmination of a photojournalist passion project.
Steve Belasco has just released his third book of photographs of the Jurassic coast taken from a boat.
His book Jurassic Coast from the Sea features stunning photos of the World Heritage Site, which stretches 95 miles from Poole in the east to Exmouth in the west.
Steve, from Portesham, calls this book ‘the great one’, documenting the coast as it ‘lives, breathes and evolves’ in the 21st century.
This 144-page book follows Steve Portland’s From the Sea and Dorset From the Sea books, which have sold over 4,000 pictures.
It contains a foreword by Chris Chibnall, creator of Broadchurch Television, which was filmed in West Bay.
Steve said: “The first thing people say about my photography is ‘it’s a different angle.’
“A lot of them say ‘I’ve lived here all my life and I didn’t know it looked like this. A lot of people who live here would never go on the water. There’s a lot of really beautiful scenery photographers, but they don’t take pictures from the water.”
The photographs are accompanied by snippets of information about the Jurassic Coast and were taken at different times of the day: dawn, midday, dusk and even a stunning night shot of the lights of Portland reflecting in marina waters.
They were mostly taken from Steve’s boat, Strange Weather.
Among the photos in the book is Steve’s award-winning photo of a bottlenose dolphin bursting just below the bow of a giant tanker in Weymouth Bay. He won South West Photographer of the Year in Photojournalism from the British Institute of Professional Photography for the majestic action shot.
As a volunteer ambassador for the Jurassic Coast Trust, Steve says it has been like a mission for him to photograph and present the Jurassic Coast and its waters, from sea level, as they are today.
He regularly lectures on the coastline, England’s only natural World Heritage Site, to local community groups.
It’s hard for Steve to pick a favorite part of the coast, he says, but Portland “fascinates me.”
“You have the industrial side and the geological side too, it’s an amazing experience to have in photography.
“The only change I’ve really noticed is the number of different water sports going on right now.”
*Jurassic Sea Coast can be purchased online from Steve Belasco’s website www.stevebelasco.net for £16.99. It can also be purchased at Amazon and Waterstone’s and WH Smith in Weymouth and Dorchester
