Murray Sharratt delights thousands on Vancouver Island with his premier-quality landscapes, seascapes and astrophotography.
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Murray became interested in photography in the 80's, soon after high school, during a BA in Visual Communications Program at Shoreline Community College in Seattle. "We studied graphic design, journalism and photography," he says. "We had great instructors."
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After graduation, Murray worked for ten years as a photojournalist: first as a staff photographer for two sister community papers on the Island, The Sidney Review and Goldstream Gazette, and later as a part time contributor to The Province and the Vancouver Sun. He also shot dozens of weddings professionally during that time, and also did some magazine work.
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It was great training, but stressful waiting for the results of someone’s special day. Working with film cameras and running darkrooms for community newspapers meant many hours of working in confined spaces with exposure to some dangerous chemicals. And there was the uncertainty of not knowing if he had successfully captured the crucial shot until hours after it was taken. After a decade, Murray hung up his high-end Canon T-90 and didn't touch a camera for years. To make a living, he began his own painting and decorating business.
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In 2010, he began to take photos again, with some casual family shooting. After awhile, he bought a quality digital camera, the Canon 40D. On a family trip to Hawaii in 2014, he began shooting landscapes, and continued back home on the Island.
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Murray Sharratt
Fine Art Landscape Photographer
Although he finishes his photos with post-processing software, he prefers to do what he can in-camera to get the desired results. He says, “learning with film taught me to be precise with exposures.” Murray uses many filters familiar to landscape photography, such as polarizers, neutral density and grad neutral density filters.
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He embraces common landscape techniques, such as exposure blending, focus stacking and panoramas to create interesting and dramatic images that are edited and completed in Photoshop and Lightroom. Astro images require further editing in software programs such as Sequator, StarNet and Topaz.
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Murray shoots with premium camera equipment: Astro modified Canon 6D, two other 6Ds for landscape photography and portraits, plus a Canon 7D Mark II, many lenses, including Tamron, Rokinon and Canon and the MSM Sky Tracker (orginal).
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In the past several years, Murray has developed a devoted following, consistently drawing enthusiastic reviews on the largest online platforms for Island photographers, including his own Facebook and Instagram pages. He has built up a clientele of dozens of individuals and organizations who display his stunning captures of Vancouver Island scenes, often in sizes that fill an entire wall-- in their homes, waiting rooms and public spaces.
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More recently, Murray has honed his skills in astro-landscape photography and in 2024 he was awarded the 'Award of Excellence' at the Sooke Fine Arts Show for his astro image "Milk on the Rocks".
​For more information, please get in touch using my Contact page.
Murray captures the rugged coastlines, mountains, lakeshores and the night sky in and around Vancouver Island, with skill and dedication, often arriving on location before dawn or in the middle of the night to take advantage of the best light and conditions. He enjoys the challenge of searching out a good composition in the limited time that the best light lasts. “It gets the adrenaline going,” he says. But even more, Murray says he enjoys being alone in the quiet and beautiful locations he photographs.