Murphy Dobbs Publishing – Christina, Ken + Rick

MDP is an independent coffee table photography book publisher and creator. Ken and Rick have been working together since 2003 on multiple levels, but with the beginning of the conversation regarding the making of Local Spirit in 2014, they decided to bring on Ken’s daughter, Christina, as managing partner and Murphy Dobbs Publishing was officially born in 2018.

Rick Dobbs is MDP’s creative director. He's a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, but has been a resident of South Louisiana for almost 20 years, calling New Orleans home for over half of that time. Rick is also creative director and principal at Unreal, a multidisciplinary, award-winning creative communication studio based in New Orleans.  

Ken Murphy is MDP's director of photography and is a life-long resident of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Ken has been a professional photographer for 37 years and in addition to the two titles under MDP, he's also published 4 other coffee table books – My South Coast Home (2001), Mississippi (2006), Mississippi: State of Blues (2010), Jackson (2014). Like any good Southern boy, Ken is an avid hunter, fisherman, and family man.  

Christina Murphy is the managing partner for MDP, and like Ken and Rick, she was raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  She spent her formative years in the New Orleans metro area and while her background is in IT and software, her skill set also includes being Ken's official "handler", and keeping Rick and Ken organized and in line.