When I first thought of doing this feature on all my favorite photogs, the one that came to mind I knew I had to cover was Ryan Moss. I’ve known Mossy for about 5 years now. We met working together on a Reef trip in Australia. He grew up in NorCal and we’re both avid hockey fans. Unfortunately his favorite team is the team I dislike the most (San Jose Sharks). Ryan is a different breed of lensman. He can shoot video just as well as he shoots stills. Not to mention his editing is on par with the top in the biz. Plan on seeing a lot more from Moss over the years to come. He’s already accomplished so much but something tells me he’s just getting started.
D.O.B & Location:
09/19/1983 & somewhere between Oahu and Cali. Haha
Years shooting?
9
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in San Jose,California.
Where do you now reside?
I spent 6 months in Hawaii this past year, a month in Tahiti, a couple weeks in Fiji , Africa and Indo. I will be back in California for a few months working on a movie set and then back to Oahu for the Triple Crown season. I guess I don’t really have a residence, but my bills and pay checks are sent to my parents house in San Jose, so does that count?
Would you rather shoot in the freezing cold or blistering heat?
I have done both and both have their own challenges and draw backs, but at the end of the day I need to look good in board shorts, so blistering heat?
I did a trip to Iceland a few years back and it was pretty and a rad trip to do but I was miserable the entire time because I was freezing.
What surf destination could you travel to year after year and never get tired of visiting?
Hands down it would be Tahiti. I love the people there, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met anywhere. There are a variety of waves there and I love lefts. The water is crystal clear. If you know me you know I love tropical mountains and ridge lines. I have spent countless hours on days when the waves are flat just staring up at the mountains there and drawing lines. I’ve actually spent some time exploring valleys and climbing some ridge lines there, but not nearly as much as I would like to.
Worst trip you’ve ever been on? Why?
I don’t know. There’s a lot of trips where at the time I thought it was the worst, but now I look back on them they were some of the funnest times of my life. I’ve been spoiled and lucky to go on a lot of amazing trips, with rad people to amazing places.
Favorite surfer to shoot?
Can I name 4? Shane Dorian, Nat Young, Mikala Jones and Greg Long. They are all so completely different. Shane rips from 2 to 100ft and you know you’re going to score with him. I don’t think I’ve ever been skunked on a trip with Shane. He’s also just a really rad guy to hang out and talk to. Nat is like a little brother to me and we can heckle each other and just cruise. His surfing speaks for itself. I traveled a bunch with him over the years and filmed with him a bunch too. It’s really cool to see how far he has taken his professional career and how he has matured into the man he is. Mikala Jones is one of the hardest working pro surfers I know. He also has incredible wave knowledge. I’ve gone on a couple home run trips with him. Whenever I get a text or call from Mikala, I’m normally preparing myself to be mentally ready to swim and shoot water in some of the biggest waves of my life. Greg Long is another person I enjoy going on trips with. We’ve never scored while together on a trip. In fact I think we are officially 0-6 now. We went to a wave that needed low tide and swell. We traveled a day and then some to get there. When we got there the swell had downgraded. We needed the right tide and the right amount of swell in order for the wave to be rideable. The swell arrived just as the tide was getting too high and we missed our window. As soon as we knew there was no hope of us scoring the wave we immediately booked our tickets home. 3 days of travel roughly in order to sit and wait for a wave 6 hours that we didn’t surf. Greg is also full of life wisdom and just one of the easiest people to travel with.
Favorite photographer?
Too hard to pick one. Russel Ord, Lucas Gilman, Ryan Craig, Todd Glasser, Shane Grace, Dave Nelson, Pat Stacy, Jimmy Chin, and Ricky Lesser all inspire me.
What are you currently working on?
Healing all the cuts on my face and body from bouncing off the reef at Restaurants.
Instagram &/or website:
@Ryan.Moss
Www.ryancmoss.com
