Lazaro “Laz” Ruda was raised in South Florida and has spent his entire life near the ocean. At an early age his unwarranted fears of the ocean’s mysteries evolved into an endless fascination during his visits to Key West and Singer Island. Floating below him was an alien world waiting to be discovered.
Photo credits (clockwise from the left): Mike Scott, Cassie Jensen, Selfie, Mike Walker, Mike Walker
Over forty years later, this love affair for the ocean has developed into an obsession. Whether he is on an ocean adventure or reading books on its natural history, few things capture his attention with such an invigorating passion. Every immersion elicits the fascination he felt as a small boy dipping his head underwater for the very first time.
Although he has traveled to many spectacular places throughout the world, it is Florida and the nearby Bahamas that he loves to explore the most. In fact, 90% of the photographs you see on this web site were taken in his backyard in Palm Beach, Florida.
It is through this web site that he hopes to share with you the wonder of this incredible world as he sees it. His hope is that his images and stories will help you understand our amazing ocean planet a little better and his passion and admiration for the natural world becomes your own.