Nate doesn’t spend nine months a year in Indonesia just to shoot other people surfing.

Name: Nathan Lawrence
Age: 28
Hometown: Santa Cruz, CA
Years shooting: 11

Where are you right now? Santa Cruz

Where have you been over the last six months? Bali, Sumatra, Java, Sumbawa, Lombok, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, Florida

What do you ride? 5′11” Byrne round-tail six-channel quad. I tried it as a thruster, but it didn’t turn well. It’s the best board I’ve ridden in years. Made in Bali at my friend Basty’s factory. It’s so nice to finally be able to get good boards made in Bali!

How often do you surf? I surf for nine months straight almost every day when I’m in Indo. But since I just got to Santa Cruz for the winter, I’ll go three months without one surf. I don’t even have a board here

Favorite wave to surf: Uluwatu. Or Macaroni’s. But it’s almost too perfect, no variety. So Uluwatu. Inside racetrack

Favorite surfers to shoot: In Bali: Garut, Bol, Dede. In Australia: Owen, Craig and Ry. In California: Evan, Luke, Kolohe and Mulcoy

Favorite city: San Francisco

Won’t return to: Keramas. I can’t stand shooting there anymore

Perks of being a SURFING photographer: Well, having my images turn out looking nice. The guys working at the mag are the best in the biz. I can’t imagine the pain that the SURFER and TW photogs go through. Haha no, but seriously, we have like the best color corrector in the biz, Pete Taras. And then guys like Chato [Aganza] and Scott Chenoweth. No one even knows how big of a role they play. They should be getting interviewed on here, not me

Other jobs held in the past: Auto parts delivery boy in high school. Then I worked at a photo lab. I developed E-6. Printed color. I forget how expensive it used to be to be a photographer. There’s no way I could’ve been shooting so much if I hadn’t “accidentally” slipped in my rolls to develop too

How you deal with poachers: I’d like to shoot them. It’s so sad. Some of them kill a whole elephant just for their tusks

The next Kelly Slater is: Steph Gilmore

The next Steph Gilmore is: Some girl in kindergarten

Person (alive or dead) you’d most want to have a beer with: Jay Moriarity

If you weren’t a surf photographer, you’d be: Back to what I started out shooting: skateboarding