Words by Hannah Tapping
The instant happiness created by experiencing the unique; exploring the wistful, watery world of photographer, Megan Hemsworth.
Megan Hemsworth’s professional practice sees her championing the female surf community while shining a light on how beautiful Cornwall is. “I shoot for both personal work and corporate brands capturing all things surf related. I love to share my experiences through Instagram, a platform that has really been a stepping stone for my career.” Megan loves and respects the ocean, always aware of its power while admiring its beauty and being grateful for the joy it gives to so many people. “Water heals, cleanses and fixes the mind and for that I am forever grateful,” adds Megan.
Megan has had the pleasure of traveling to multiple countries around the world, culminating in a shoot for Surfsistas, a surf retreat company that matches her own ethos of encouraging the female surf community. “I like to celebrate the imperfect, it’s not always about catching the ‘best’ wave or the ‘biggest’ wave, it’s more about being present and experiencing something unique that creates so much instant happiness. It means so much to me that I can swim around my friends and people I admire and capture their achievements small or large. I love the peacefulness, even amongst powerful waves, where thoughts become quieter and it’s all about being in the moment.”
35mm film is Megan’s medium of choice: “This is not something I claim to be a professional at but instead it’s something that still and I think always will challenge me. It makes me think more about each shot and I feel even more connected to each moment out in the water. It involves a lot more pre-planning than shooting digital and it has the potential not to work! I could leave the sea with nothing and that’s the very thing that keeps the image-taking alive for me.”
Her latest project, which will culminate in a book to be published at the end of the year, is a showcase of as many Cornish surfers, photographers and sea swimmers as possible, all shot on 35mm film. The goal is to have no goal, rather capturing those that she admires based on Megan’s ethos: “We have to live our lives, not just think about the end goal.”
