At 18, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in search of adventure. And I got it. Immediately, the Navy had me jumping out of helicopters and plunging into icy cold waters to save lives as a rescue swimmer.
After returning from my second nine-month deployment, I had no photos to show for all those transformative moments and breathtaking views of Bahrain, U.A.E., and Italy from inside the helicopter cabin. So, I decided to buy my first camera to start documenting life as I saw it, with all the people, details, and adventures I found along the way.
Photography soon became my creative outlet, especially when I got out of the Navy and needed it most. I fell in love with the entire process from getting to know the couples to editing the images.
Now, at Murphy Studios, I film weddings and photograph everything, including engagements, anniversaries, military homecomings, families, professional headshots and events. My aim is to capture a moment or spontaneous conversation in order to tell your story for years to come.
I document the big bold moments in a couple’s life all across the northeast US.
WELCOME TO MURPHY STUDIOS. I'm ALAN AND I
I’m that dad, yep, the one following around their child with a giant camera. Seriously, I’m recording whether my son is taking his first steps or just laughing at the silly faces my wife and I make at him over breakfast. We spend our weekends hiking (with him on my back) the Appalachian Trail or taking it easy on Long Beach Island. Life with the two of them is always something new, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My Family
Travel has always been a part of my life. Growing up as a second-generation immigrant, my summers were spent visiting family back in South Africa and touring Europe as a member of my church’s choir. These trips gave me a certain cultural perspective that grounded me in life and gave me an understanding of the voices of those around me. That’s why I’m always up for a destination wedding or photoshoot.
Travel
Veteran advocacy is my absolute mission in life. I’m here to to give a voice to veterans in every capacity, and I have several avenues to help me achieve that goal: my job at Success Academy Charter Schools as part of the Military Veteran Initiative; volunteering with amazing organizations like Team Rubicon and The Mission Continues; photographing veterans for my Veteran Portrait Project; photographing the families of active duty military with homecoming portrait sessions, and interviewing veterans for the podcast Barack Stories.
Veteran Advocate
Alan’s Atlas
Each pin on this map is a capsule of time in my life that inspires me to live life adventurously and take in every visual while doing so.
veterans
Veteran Advocacy
Veteran advocacy is my absolute mission in life. I’m here to to give a voice to veterans in every capacity, and I have several avenues to help me achieve that goal: my job at Success Academy Charter Schools as part of the Military Veteran Initiative; volunteering with amazing organizations like Team Rubicon and The Mission Continues; photographing veterans for my Veteran Portrait Project; photographing the families of active duty military with homecoming portrait sessions, and interviewing veterans for the podcast Barack Stories.
