Lazaro Ruda (laz217)

Forum username: laz217
Real name: Lazaro Ruda
Posts: 599
Active years: 2001–2017
Primary forums: Photo/Video Showcase, Trip Reports and Travel, Photography Gear and Technique
Specialization: Macro and marine life photography, Florida Keys diving, compact camera advocacy, goliath grouper conservation
Website: TheLivingSea.com

Biography

Lazaro “Laz” Ruda is an underwater photographer based in South Florida who was one of the earliest members of the Wetpixel community, joining in December 2001 — just months after the site’s founding. Over a 16-year span of activity, he contributed 599 posts and started an extraordinary 204 threads, giving him one of the highest thread-starter ratios of any Wetpixel member. His prolific thread creation reflected an enthusiastic, narrative-driven approach to sharing his dive experiences, often writing detailed trip reports with vivid storytelling.

Ruda dove regularly in the Florida Keys, particularly at Molasses Reef and other sites accessible from Key Largo, where he was a regular at the Quiescence dive shop. He later expanded to sites around Palm Beach County, Jupiter, and the wider Florida coast. His photography focused heavily on macro subjects and marine life identification — nudibranchs, sea spiders, octopuses, and other invertebrates — though he also produced notable images of dolphins, sharks, and large marine life.

Gear Progression

Ruda’s gear journey exemplified the digital compact camera era. He initially shot with an Olympus C-5050, producing results that earned him recognition as Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine Photographer of the Week in February 2004 (^[1]). Eric Cheng praised his work as “a fine example of what can be accomplished with the Olympus C5050, a high-end 5 megapixel consumer digicam.”

Fellow community member David Haas described Ruda as proof that great results come from skill rather than gear: “My amigo Lazaro Ruda (www.thelivingsea.com) is a proud new Nikon D70 owner… he’s getting great stuff (including moving fish, dolphins, manatees and sharks) with a ‘shutter lag’ camera… Mainly because he spends time in the water and is a great observer and hunter” (^[2]).

Ruda later transitioned to the Nikon D70 DSLR system, pushed toward it by community members like Karl Dietz and Herb Kobayashi who encouraged him to explore the 105mm macro with teleconverters for extreme magnification work (^[3]).

Notable Contributions

Award-Winning Photography

• 2004: Named Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine Photographer of the Week (^[4])
• 2009: Won in the Nature’s Best Ocean Views Contest with a Spotted Dolphin image, alongside grand prize winner Matthew Potenski and other established photographers (^[5])

Alligator Encounter

In 2010, Ruda documented a remarkable encounter with a freshwater alligator at 60 feet depth on Breaker’s Reef in Palm Beach, Florida. The sighting was featured on Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide. Ruda wrote: “Of all the amazing and rare encounters it was perhaps a humpback whale inshore of Breaker’s reef in 40 feet of water that held the title for the unexpected. But Breaker’s reef was to up the ante once again” (^[6]).

Goliath Grouper Conservation

Ruda was an active advocate for goliath grouper protection in Florida. In 2007, he reported seeing three dead goliath groupers with spear wounds in the Lake Worth area, contributing field observations to an article about the illegal spearing of these protected fish (^[7]). A photograph of Ruda next to a goliath grouper, taken by Jim Abernethy, was featured in a 2009 Wetpixel article promoting a petition to maintain their protected status (^[8]).

TheLivingSea.com

In May 2003, Ruda launched his website TheLivingSea.com as a gallery for his underwater photography. The announcement thread drew positive feedback from community members including James Wiseman and Craig (likely Craig Ruaux), who praised the site’s clean design and image quality (^[9]).

DEMA Show and Community Events

Ruda attended DEMA Show 2003 and was photographed at the Inon booth alongside Mark Rupert (^[10]). He also attended the Florida Dive Show and was active in the South Florida underwater photography community, attending events with fellow Wetpixel members including David Haas and Ryan Canon (^[11]).

Notable Forum Threads

• “A Craving For Glass” (35 replies, 2004) — A showcase of macro photography using stacked Inon and Olympus close-up lenses on the C-5050, including a rare Caribbean sea spider carrying eggs that had not been previously documented in Florida. Thread sparked a pivotal discussion about his transition to DSLR macro (^[12]).

• “Aquatica A5000 Housing” (31 replies, 2002) — One of Ruda’s earliest threads, reporting on Aquatica’s announcement of a housing for the Nikon Coolpix 5000. The thread captures the early excitement of the digital compact underwater photography era, with discussions of TTL sensors, battery packs, and port compatibility (^[13]).

• “Breaking the Habit” (26 replies, 2003) — An elaborately written trip report about diving in the Florida Keys with fellow Diver2Diver forum members and Wetpixel members including Karl Dietz. Showcases Ruda’s narrative writing style and the social connections between early 2000s online dive communities (^[14]).

• “Dunkin’ Dolphins” (25 replies, 2003) — A detailed trip report from a Key Largo dive featuring dolphins, a hammerhead shark sighting, a nurse shark, nudibranchs, and a two-foot octopus. Demonstrates his entertaining writing style and enthusiasm for Florida marine life (^[15]).

• “TheLivingSea.com” (13 replies, 2003) — Announcement of his photography website (^[16]).

Activity Profile

• First post: December 24, 2001
• Last post: March 18, 2017
• Peak years: 2002–2006
• 204 threads started — one of the highest thread-starter counts in Wetpixel history
• 5 article comments
• Activity score: 1,221

Ruda’s posting pattern shows intense early activity (2001-2006) followed by a gradual decline, with a gap from 2011-2014 before returning for occasional posts through 2017. His longevity on the platform — spanning nearly the entire history of Wetpixel from shortly after its founding — makes him one of the community’s longest-serving members.