Based in stunning Naples, Fla., Jay Nichols “got serious” about photography six years ago when his local performance club asked if he’d shoot some of its events. Prior to that, Nichols, 58, owned his own advertising agency and was an experienced art director. In performance-boat photography, he found something that stirred his imagination.

Nichols prefers shooting offshore races from the water rather than from a helicopter.



“It started out as a hobby and became something more,” he says. “I’m self-taught, but being an art director my whole life I always had an eye for composition. Once I became involved with the boats it really got my interest going.

“After I’d get the shots, I’d look at them and say, ‘Darn, those are really dramatic,’” he continues. “I’d shot auto racing and found it boring, but with the boat stuff there is just such a high amount of dramatic action—the roostertails, the paint jobs, and almost all of the time you have the ocean involved. The whole package turns into something greater than the individual parts.”

Jay Nichols



Unlike the other three photographers in this series—and most powerboat photographers in general—Nichols says he prefers to shoot from the shore than from a helicopter. He believes it gives him more composition options.

“I’ve had very good luck shooting from the beach,” says Nichols. “On the beach, you can focus on one boat, or get all the boats together coming through a turn. I have so many good shots of Miss Geico coming through turns. I am totally happy shooting from the beach.”

Nichols prefers photographing racing to poker runs because of the action. He says several offshore racers have even used his photos as tools to help improve their performance on the race course.

“I’ve had racers call me and say, ‘We’re studying your photos and trying to figure out how to trim the boat better in turns,’” says Nichols. “I’m flattered that they’re looking at my photos in more detail than I am.”

A former art director, Nichols likes to employ unusual angles and framing to guide the viewer's eye.



Editor's Note: There are four articles in the Straight Shooter Series. To read the others, see:

Written by: Matt Trulio
Matt Trulio is the co-publisher and editor in chief of speedonthewater.com, a daily news site with a weekly newsletter and a new bi-monthly digital magazine that covers the high-performance powerboating world. The former editor-in-chief of Sportboat magazine and editor at large of Powerboat magazine, Trulio has covered the go-fast powerboat world since 1995. Since joining boats.com in 2000, he has written more than 200 features and blogs.