Morning Routines by Kearnan Murphy

From a young age I’ve loved the ocean. As soon as I would dive in, the cold, weightlessness and freedom I felt, would reset my mind and put things into perspective.

My love for photography came a little later, but was no less intense. While living and travelling in Europe, I had the strong desire to not only experience epic moments and new places but to also capture them. As I continued to travel around the world, I was lucky enough to photograph some truly special places, capturing people, cultures and landscapes, through my lens.

Bringing my love for the ocean and photography together was inevitable. For a long time I was often faced with the hard decision of which passion to indulge each morning, surfing or photography. My underwater housing changed all that, and now I can combine getting into the surf and capturing moments in the ocean. 

Most nights before a morning shoot, I’ll spend a lot of time checking charts for swell, wind, tide and cloud predictions. In the morning I’ll check it all again just to be sure. 

Lately, I am trying not to be so obsessive over the planning and instead concentrating on enjoying the process of getting the image. Whether it is the anticipation I feel when setting up my water housing the night before, with a lens I have not previously used, or challenging myself by restricting my session to one setting on my camera to see what results I can produce. Some mornings I may come away with the shot I was after and other mornings I may have nothing, but either way I never regret the salt water therapy I receive from time in the ocean.

Now, when my alarm goes off at five am, I jump out of bed and head down to the water for a surf or photo session. The best of both worlds combining for the ultimate morning routine.