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Liquid Light: An Underwater Photographer’s Guide to the Cenotes of the Riviera Maya
Not yet published
Expected 11 Nov 26Liquid Light is a journey into the hidden world of the cenotes of the Riviera Maya and a practical course in underwater photography built around one central learning to paint with light.
Created by underwater photographer and cave diver Shawn Murphy, this book blends fine-art imagery, personal exploration, diving knowledge, and hands-on photography education. It is both a visual experience and a guide for divers, freedivers, travelers, and photographers who want to create stronger underwater images, not just take snapshots.
At the heart of the book is Painting with Light, a focused underwater photography course built from real cenote and cave diving experience. This section teaches readers how to think about light how to use available light, how to shape artificial light, how to place divers in a scene, how to control movement and buoyancy, and how to build images with depth, atmosphere, and emotion.
The cenotes are one of the most powerful places on Earth to learn this. Beneath the jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, freshwater flows through ancient limestone caves, sinkholes, caverns, and flooded passages. Sunlight enters through openings in the earth, cutting through blue water in beams that feel almost unreal. In these spaces, light becomes the subject. It reveals the cave, shapes the diver, creates mood, and turns a dive into a photograph with meaning.
Liquid Light was created to capture that feeling and teach the process behind it.
Through stories, images, lessons, and behind-the-scenes reflections, Shawn shares what the cenotes have taught him about patience, composition, lighting, shot planning, gear choices, diver positioning, and respect for the underwater environment. Readers learn how to slow down, see differently, and approach underwater photography with more intention.
For scuba divers, the book offers a deeper appreciation of cenote diving and the experience of moving through Mexico's flooded cave systems. For underwater photographers, it offers practical instruction in lighting, composition, and visual storytelling in overhead and low-light environments. For freedivers, travelers, artists, and ocean lovers, it opens a window into one of the most mysterious and beautiful underwater worlds on Earth.
Part story, part art book, and part underwater photography guide, Liquid Light is an invitation to look beneath the surface and learn how to create images with silence, flow, depth, and meaning.
Created by underwater photographer and cave diver Shawn Murphy, this book blends fine-art imagery, personal exploration, diving knowledge, and hands-on photography education. It is both a visual experience and a guide for divers, freedivers, travelers, and photographers who want to create stronger underwater images, not just take snapshots.
At the heart of the book is Painting with Light, a focused underwater photography course built from real cenote and cave diving experience. This section teaches readers how to think about light how to use available light, how to shape artificial light, how to place divers in a scene, how to control movement and buoyancy, and how to build images with depth, atmosphere, and emotion.
The cenotes are one of the most powerful places on Earth to learn this. Beneath the jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, freshwater flows through ancient limestone caves, sinkholes, caverns, and flooded passages. Sunlight enters through openings in the earth, cutting through blue water in beams that feel almost unreal. In these spaces, light becomes the subject. It reveals the cave, shapes the diver, creates mood, and turns a dive into a photograph with meaning.
Liquid Light was created to capture that feeling and teach the process behind it.
Through stories, images, lessons, and behind-the-scenes reflections, Shawn shares what the cenotes have taught him about patience, composition, lighting, shot planning, gear choices, diver positioning, and respect for the underwater environment. Readers learn how to slow down, see differently, and approach underwater photography with more intention.
For scuba divers, the book offers a deeper appreciation of cenote diving and the experience of moving through Mexico's flooded cave systems. For underwater photographers, it offers practical instruction in lighting, composition, and visual storytelling in overhead and low-light environments. For freedivers, travelers, artists, and ocean lovers, it opens a window into one of the most mysterious and beautiful underwater worlds on Earth.
Part story, part art book, and part underwater photography guide, Liquid Light is an invitation to look beneath the surface and learn how to create images with silence, flow, depth, and meaning.
124 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 11, 2026
About the author
Shawn Murphy
23 books1 followerShawn Murphy is a thought leader and practitioner recognized by Huffington Post and Inc. for his contributions to creating optimistic work environments and the type of leadership needed for them.
He is the CEO and co-founder of Switch & Shift, an organization dedicated to the advancement of organizational practices for the human-side of business.
http://switchandshift.com
He is the CEO and co-founder of Switch & Shift, an organization dedicated to the advancement of organizational practices for the human-side of business.
http://switchandshift.com
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