My life has taken some drastic changes over the last few months. Beginning in November last year, on a quick trip to Bali, Indonesia, I heard a response from a surf charter company who had semi-advertised for a Surf Photographer gig on their boat. I had sent in an application two months prior but had no reply, until now. Within a day, I had a few quick phone calls and a meeting with the skipper before I secured the job.
Looking back, that seemed the easy part. What followed was a chaotic display of what I call “organizing,” which for others was most likely madness and probably fun to watch. I quit my job, ordered more camera gear, packed up whatever belongings I had and stored them at a friend’s place, along with my car. I didn’t even give the poor bloke any indication of when I’d be back. The few weeks I had to prepare flew by, and before I knew it, I was on the plane to an area of Northern Indonesia on the edge of the Pacific I had never been to – nor had my skipper or any of the guests who had booked the first trip.
Fast-forward seven weeks. Although the surf season for that particular region of Indonesia is over, it will not forgotten. What I initially thought would be a run-of-the-mill charter boat consisting of somewhat mediocre images of average surfers in decent waves turned into a photographic haven for some of the most breathtaking and in-depth images I have ever taken. The surf was really good on many occasions, but what really caught my eye was everything else. I certainly was able to capture the raw beauty of breaking waves. The region we were in is so remote that the locations we surfed were, for the most part, only accessed by boat. The landscape, people, history and wild tropical weather blew my mind.
I have four weeks until the season kicks off again in Northern Sumatra – plenty of time to get a scope on what I have captured. The images I have chosen to display here are the ones that summarize the experience, while giving the viewer an idea of the beauty of this mostly untouched oasis of land and sea.
-RR
See more from Ryan at www.robsonimages.com, on Instagram, and on Facebook.
