Meet Surf Photographer Bella Rose Bunce
Bella is someone we’ve followed for some time now. You might’ve clocked her surfing in the pages of Issue #001 (captured by BLU. Founder Aline Arnold above) or seen her incredible image of Rosie Lois on the first page of Issue #002 (below).
Based in Cornwall, her water photography captures some of the best surfers in the South West. Currently in Mexico, she’s had the opportunity to attend the Mexi Log Fest and photograph some of the best longboarders in the world, including one of our favourite surfers of all time, Kassia Meador!
We’ve invited her to feature as a guest blogger on Daughters of the Sea, to give us the behind the scenes of a cold water shoot in December…
It was during the ‘big freeze’ in December 2022, the air temp was 2 degrees Celsius and the sea 11 degrees Celsius and I knew all the guys would be out surfing, so I wanted to find gals who would too. At the time my car was being a bit tricky, but I couldn’t miss a photo op and on my way to the beach it started to smoke and steam! That didn’t stop me though! On arrival the car smelt like it was burning. The steam was blowing everywhere and I knew it was the last surf trip we’d have together. So I thought ‘f*** it, let’s crack on’. I jumped in the boot of Sophie’s car for the last leg of the drive.
Sophie Williamson is always keen and will almost always say yes to a surf adventure, whatever the weather. We then met up with Lauren Sandland, a 16 year old, lovely shredder from Crantock. It was my first time meeting Lauren and her dad Neil. We said our hellos and started the walk to the surf. The fickle winds weren’t looking great, so that day we picked a place where we could be protected by the rugged Cornish cliffs. However this meant walking for 40 minutes from the car, all gear in hand and no idea if the waves would be good. It made for a great opportunity to get to know each other, whilst our cheeks started to numb from chatting in the cold air.
As expected, the waves were a bit wobbly, but there was no turning back. We zipped up our suits and jumped in. I started by shooting out of water to get some snaps, then paddled out with my camera in hand. I’m trying to learn video at the moment, so I watched in amazement as Lauren stylishly darted around the waves, making it look easy. Sadly it was a little bit rippy and so I couldn’t quite get in the perfect spot for shooting, but I still had a great time bobbing around watching the girls do their thing.
