The finest moments in my life are light dependent. Though I’m wholly present, in these moments I’m slack jawed and staring at a beautiful beam of sunlight. It’s often not until the glow dims or sun shifts that I realize I was awestruck by a radiance of beautiful light.

I can’t say exactly where my love of beautiful sights came from, or when I fully realized them, but I do know they are what I crave. Since slipping into the water on a mission to learn how to surf, my eyes have been hungry to find beauty among light, shadows and water. Photography as an art, a career and meditation have thrust me into a life of creativity. I live and breathe pretty visuals and extraordinary moments. I am eagerly intrigued by new cultures and learning from the experience of others.

I hope to be able to show viewers how amazing the world we live in. I aim to inspire those who think they “can’t” and encourage them to be brave and to “do”. I don’t want my work to inspire people to dream, I want them to be inspired to feel and act. Water is the most euphoric element. It refills my inspiration bucket like nothing else I’ve experienced. These images are proof that the sun’s light is amazing, and our planet’s oceans are beautiful.

More info: ryanstruck.com

Sunset on the East Coast light up the coast during “golden hour”

Winter wave at sunset, 38 degrees water temperature

Jumping into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia

A hurricane sends huge waves to the Jersey Shore

A beautiful giant breaking in Tahiti

A classic car in Santa Cruz, California

Air temperature 17 degrees, water 36 degrees. One of the coldest days I’ve swam out to shoot surf photos from the water

A successful session in Montauk, New York

A surfer wades through snow to paddle out in the freezing cold

Nathan Florence surfing Teahupoo in Tahiti

Surfing in Panama along a deserted stretch of jungle

A villager shows us the way to the beach in his handmade wooden canoe

Surfing in sepia tones

Blacktip Reef Sharks of the South Pacific

What surfing looks like from underwater: stained glass perfection

An underwater photographer’s view in Tahiti

Hanging off the back of a sailboat