Ryan O'Connell

I worked as a deckhand on pleasure boats out of the marina for years before guiding became my main work, so I still read the sea the way other people read weather apps. On camera I try to keep the horizon level even when the wind is doing its best to stop me, since a tilted sea unsettles people more than they expect. I plan sessions around whichever hour gives the clearest light off the water. Regulars ask why I never guide on the calmest days, and the honest answer is that a bit of weather usually makes for a better call.