Cruz Erdmann didn’t plan to become a wildlife photographer. But when he was 10 years old, on one of the many diving trips he took with his dad, his dad gave him his old underwater camera. With that camera, Cruz started documenting the marine wildlife that had fascinated him his entire life. Barely two years later, he won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, organized by the Natural History Museum of London. He even got to speak at the World Economic Forum, where he presented his photography and his vision: using the power of the visual image to give the creatures living underwater a face for those who do not have the chance to see them any other way. Cruz believes that we have become so disconnected from our oceans that we no longer understand the negative consequences of our consumerism. Overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction may very well destroy the delicate ecosystems that support marine wildlife. With his photography, Cruz wants to raise global awareness of the importance of these issues.