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Greg turned 29 during this trip, and this is him parked in a birthday barrel during a solo session with just him and myself photographing from the channel. Photo: Nick Liotta
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An early morning view of Mt. Agung, the highest volcano in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Brett Ayres, putting on the brakes somewhere on a distant island of Indo. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Guzzling down Bintang after Bintang seemed to become the usual after the last surf of the day. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Gems like this often pass through undetected during the wet season. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Local fisherman race for port as surf charters raise anchor before a storm rolls in. Photo: Nick Liotta
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My brother, Greg, putting his new Luke Studer biscuit to use at a tropical left in Sumbawa. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Damian, a french tour boat captain, stuffed tightly in a dreamy left barrel. Sumbawa, Indonesia. Photo: Nick Liotta
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One of the many unridden ones from a dreamy afternoon in an island near Bali. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Rush hour in Maluk, Sumbawa. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Somewhere in the Indian Ocean lies this perfect, empty left. Photo: Nick Liotta
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No one but myself and a few sea turtles to watch this hypnotizing right machine. Photo: Nick Liotta
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A rather exotic way to check the waves with Brett Ayres. Photo: Nick Liotta
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We were greeted with perfect conditions from the moment we stepped off the plane. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Downtime fun consisted of competitive games of pool, cards, slugging Bintangs, or in this case, body surfing. Brett Ayres with good form on the shore pound of Sumbawa. Photo: Nick Liotta
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Some weren't as eager to reach the desolate island of Sumbawa as us. Photo: Nick Liotta
After completing a tiring three years at Brooks Institute of Photography, I booked a ticket to Indonesia with three friends: Brett Ayres, Lyle Smith, and my brother Greg. Not knowing what the swell was really going to do, we left our options open.
We landed in Bali, quickly picked up what we needed, and hopped on ferry after ferry bobbing from island to island. We ended up spending the majority of the time in Sumbawa where we scored three weeks of flawless waves. I’ve never experienced such consistency of surf. All we had to worry about was tides. The wind was mostly perfect, the swell was almost too big the entire time and the crowds were nonexistent.
It was crazy there, though. Being woken up every morning by mosque readings blasting through the local village of Maluk through loud speakers was the best alarm clock considering my iPhone got stolen in Bali the first day rendering me unable to set an alarm. The days were too easy – surf when the tides were good, and hide from the sun when they weren’t. Some days we spent hiking to local waterfalls when our rashes were too unbearable to surf. Other days we would take the scooters to “town” to find wifi and get laundry done for 15,000 rupiah ($1.35). It was paradise.
After a month living in mosquito net beds and avoiding malaria preventive trucks on scooters, our beat up selves made the trek back to the holy land of Bali. We got touristy and surfed shoulder to shoulder with every Euro and their mother for the last three days of the trip before hopping on China Air back to the States.
See more of Nick’s work at nickliotta.com and Instagram: @nickliotta
