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The Underworld

A cave diver moves through the flooded limestone underworld of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, framed by a beam of light cutting through the darkness.

Awards

Photographer of the Year Contest

2026

Honorable Mention

Nature

Professional

The Underworld

A cave diver moves through the flooded limestone underworld of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, framed by a beam of light cutting through the darkness.

About Artist

Shawn Murphy

Shawn Murphy is an underwater photographer, technical diver, author, and explorer whose work brings viewers into the hidden landscapes beneath the surface. For more than a decade, he has photographed the cenotes of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, working with darkness, natural light, scale, and silence to create images from environments few people ever experience. His photography combines fine-art vision with the discipline of technical diving and underwater exploration. He is the author of Liquid Light: An Underwater Photographer’s Guide to the Cenotes of the Riviera Maya and is currently documenting historic shipwrecks in Lake Ontario with Exploring Our Deep World. Whether exploring submerged caves, deep shipwrecks, or the creatures that inhabit these places, Murphy’s work is driven by curiosity and a desire to reveal the beauty, mystery, and history hidden beneath the water.

Shawn Murphy

Photographic Areas of Focus

Fine Art, Landscapes, Nature, Underwater, Wildlife

Location

United States of America

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