An Aquatographer’s Story: Derek Walker

April 23, 2018

Derek Walker, a creative who shares the vibrancy and speed of ocean waves in a way that makes you feel so close to the water that you can practically touch it.

As an Aquatographer, Walker had come to expect that capturing each moment in the water would be difficult — it’s through this difficulty that he managed to develop his own style of photography which he curates on his Instagram.

However the amount of work that it takes to produce an image in the unpredictable and vast setting of the ocean can be a little intimidating, especially when a normal iPhone doesn’t properly capture the whole scene, and you don’t want to risk damaging it.

Hyperreal imagery:  Seeing is believing.

With his detective hat in hand, Derek Walker set out to find lenses that would properly show off the beauty of all that he sees when he is in the water. As time went by, he found some great companies who had gone through the trouble of putting their lenses through the ringer, but he had trouble finding lenses that wouldn’t produce distorted images due to his iPhone case.

“I was on the search for the best quality phone lens and at that time the only competition was Lifeproof, who did not have wide angle capabilities.”

 

After making it abundantly clear that he wasn’t willing to compromise on his iPhone’s protection, but still wanted to find a balance between that and creating panoramic images without distortion, a miracle happened.

“I found Hitcase on that very journey looking for the best product, I used others but no other product had waterproof capabilities nor did they have the lux lens clarity.”

When Derek got his hands on something that almost immediately changed how he interacted with nature, it took a lot for him to keep himself from immediately hitting the water.

“I started out just hanging at the beach and then just like anything else I’ve done I just jumped right in and started charging big waves.”

With a new lease on how the Hitcase lenses can work with his environment, and what sort of imagery he was now able to produce, without being limited by the possibility of damaging his iPhone in the process, Derek really let his creativity shine!

 

“I try and produce artwork and realism in my photography that others not on an island or anywhere else can see and appreciate and invision themselves there with me along for the ride.”

Right in the thick of things: Nothing beats the HicCase vantage point

And then came the curios gazes and people assuming that he was just being extra for no reason. Others even joked that their phones could probably do the same without any of Hitcase’s TrueLUX lenses.

“The funny thing is when I tell them, "Open your phone camera—and now look at mine with the case on” — I usually stack the phones together so both cameras are viewing the same picture and they are instantly blown away at the case, lens, and wide angle without plain distortion you find with most wide angle products.”

 

But surely people can pretend that it’s not a big deal, right? It’s just a phone lens, what can it really do?

“This case rivals Gopro hands down, especially with the slow motion feature iPhones have installed.”

Keeping it simple with tones of teal and cerulean: Hidden in the waves

“I have been supporting this company from the very first introduction model for the iPhone 5 and I still currently use that very same hard case.  I also use the selfie stick and FloatR leash.”

Is this Aquatographer just a fanboy who could probably get the same images from another iPhone lens company, and would that make a difference?

“Hitcase improved my picture quality and artistic ideas.  The wide angle lens allowed me to look at the world in a entire new prospective.  I absolutely noticed an increase in my followers because they recognized the quality I was able to produce in my photos and they wanted to see more.”

And what about these stylized images all over his Instagram page; is it still time consuming to upload all the images to his computer, edit them and then upload them back to his iPhone?

“It is very easy because I don’t need to upload anything or transfer any files, I can edit on the spot and upload my pics to any media right away.”

Asked if Hitcase products are more suited to professional photographers who want to give their DSLR cameras a break, Derek Walker says, “I recommend the Hitcase to everyone because they truly have the best quality cases and products on the market for your iPhone.”

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