Articles

A diver explores some stunning cave formations deep below the Central American rainforest, Mexico
 

Ten years ago, Shawn Murphy was a gourmet chef in Haverhill, Massachusetts, clocking 70-hour weeks in a kitchen and questioning the life ahead of him. Restless and seeking something deeper, he sold everything he owned and moved to Cozumel, Mexico—after only one dive. Earning his divemaster certification in six months and logging 80 dives, Shawn faced the harsh reality of breaking into the dive industry. He took an unpaid role in Sicily under unsafe conditions, working 12-hour days doing tasks he wasn’t certified for. While grueling, the experience gave him a crash course in perseverance—and what not to do as a dive professional.

Going back to Cozumel, he completed his instructor training and soon found himself in El Nido, Philippines, where he discovered underwater photography. Armed with a GoPro, Shawn began capturing the vibrant marine life that surrounded him. After travels through the Philippines, the Bahamas, and a stint away from the water on the American west coast, Shawn returned to Mexico. Drawn to the Yucatán’s sacred freshwater caves, he sold everything once again and went back to Playa del Carmen, where he now lives and works.

Specializing in cave and ambient-light photography, Shawn creates striking wide-angle compositions using custom lighting rigs, long exposures, and a deep understanding of the interplay between geology and illumination. His adventures and explorations culminated in Liquid Light: An Underwater Photographer’s Guide to the Cenotes of the Riviera Maya—a hybrid field guide, visual manifesto, and personal reflection on photography, exploration, and artistic growth. It blends technique and storytelling with practical advice on gear, lighting, and shooting in the most challenging underwater environments on the planet.

Shawn now runs workshops and photo expeditions throughout Mexico and Florida. Whether leading a group into a collapsed cave system, shooting goliath groupers off Jupiter, or crafting long exposure backlight shots in the still waters of a cenote, he brings the same grit, creativity, and soul to his work that launched him from a kitchen in Massachusetts into the heart of the deep.
 

Up close and personal with the toothy end of a green moray, Cozumel, Mexico
 

A diver descends into the labyrinth of flooded passageways beneath the jungles of the Yucatán, Mexico
 

Off-camera lighting eerily silhouettes a diver and stalactites, Mexico
 

The “Hell's Bells” biothems, fanastically weird formations growing in the dark at Zapote Cenote, Mexico
 

The eye and nostril of the charismatic and endangered goliath grouper, The Bahamas
 

Divers descend into the abyss of Cenote Maravilla, with an ominous hydrogen sulfide cloud lurking below, Mexico
 

Divers cruise along the stunning wall of Zapote Cenote, exploring the biothem formations, Mexico
 

A friendly Caribbean reef squid hunts near the surface at night, Cozumel, Mexico
 

A backlit diver explores a spooky, old, dessicated tree in Cenote Angelita, Mexico
 

A beautiful yellow-skirted nudibranch undulates along the bottom, El Nido, Philippines
 

Divers explore the cenote affectionately dubbed “El Pit”, Mexico
 

A diver descends towards the hydrogen sulfide cloud, 100 feet below the surface of Cenote Maravilla, Mexico
 

A Morelet’s crocodile rests at the surface of a cenote at night, waiting for unsuspecting prey to swim by, Yucatán, Mexico
 

To see more of Shawn’s imagery, please give him a follow on Instagram. Visit his website, www.shawnmurphymedia.com, to sign up for a workshop, and be sure to get yourself a copy of Liquid Light.