Willy Volk

Real name: Willy Volk
Articles authored: 23
Comments: 14
Active years: 2006—2007
Specialization: Book and gear reviews, editorial curation, Divester/Wetpixel partnership, marine conservation fundraising

Biography

Willy Volk was a prolific editorial contributor to Wetpixel during a concentrated period from September 2006 to October 2007, authoring 23 articles and leaving 14 comments. He was also the operator of Divester (divester.com), a diving-focused website that partnered with Wetpixel on several community initiatives including a joint t-shirt fundraiser for marine conservation.

Volk’s writing style was distinctive — energetic, witty, and highly engaging, with a literary flair uncommon in gear journalism. His book reviews in particular were praised for making marine biology and underwater photography accessible and entertaining to a broad audience.

Wetpixel Contributions

Book Reviews

Volk’s most substantial contributions were detailed, thoughtful book reviews that went far beyond summary:

• “A Diver’s Guide to Reef Life” by Andrea and Antonella Ferrari (September 2006): A 478-page reference guide covering 1,200 tropical species. Volk’s exuberant review praised the “1300 sensational, eye-popping photos” and noted the book served simultaneously as “a taxonomic guide and an underwater photography how-to” (^[1]).

• “Silent Symphony” by Tony Wu and William Tan (December 2006): An extended metaphor comparing the sea to a symphony. Volk described it as “a dynamite photo essay” and “an important document explaining why ocean conservation is imperative,” memorably noting that “Never before has an anus pictorial held so much fascination” in reference to a commensal crab living inside a sea cucumber (^[2]).

• “The Art of Diving” by Nick Hanna and Alex Mustard (January 2007): Described the book as “Walden for the underwater set,” praising its spiritual approach to diving: “Less Doing-It-Right and more Enjoying-It-More” (^[3]).

• “Water Vision” by Mirko Zanni (February 2007): Review of an Italian underwater photographer’s coffee table book (^[4]).

• “Oceanos Secretos” by Andrea and Antonella Ferrari (February 2007): Review of the Ferraris’ award-winning underwater photography book (^[5]).

• “Gorontalo: Hidden Paradise” (May 2007): Review of a book about an off-the-beaten-path Indonesian dive destination (^[6]).

• “A Diver’s Guide to Underwater Malaysia Macrolife” (October 2007): His final article for Wetpixel, a review of a Malaysian marine life guide (^[7]).

Gear and Technology Coverage

Volk wrote gear-oriented articles that curated and contextualized reviews from around the web:

• “How to Choose a Focus Light” (October 2006): Highlighted Brad Brown’s comprehensive focus light comparison on Backscatter, covering beam quality, battery life, and six models tested head-to-head (^[8]).

• “Nikon D80 vs. D200 Comparison” (October 2006): Linked to Ken Rockwell’s head-to-head comparison for prospective Nikon D200 buyers. Notably, Alex Mustard left a comment cautioning about Rockwell’s objectivity (^[9]).

• “Hugyfot Nikon D200 Housing Review” (October 2006): Featured Udo van Dongen’s review of Hugyfot’s D200 housing (^[10]).

• “Review of UK-Germany UK-D-E300 Housing” (November 2006): Coverage of Karin Brussaard’s review of the Olympus E-300 housing (^[11]).

• “Review of Sony’s new HVR-V1U HDV Compact Camcorder” (October 2006): Summarized Douglas Spotted Eagle’s pre-production hands-on review of Sony’s new HD camcorder with 3 ClearVid CMOS sensors and 240-fields-per-second capture (^[12]).

• “EZ Mask 1.0” (October 2006): Coverage of image masking software (^[13]).

• “Sony Malaysia introduces the new DSC-N2” (October 2006): Product announcement coverage (^[14]).

• “Bizarre Deep-Sea Creatures Imaged Off New Zealand” (November 2006): Science news coverage of deep-sea imaging discoveries (^[15]).

• “X-Ray Magazine 13 Available for Download” (October 2006): Publication announcement (^[16]).

Divester/Wetpixel Partnership

Volk’s most enduring contribution to the Wetpixel community was his orchestration of the Divester/Wetpixel t-shirt fundraiser for marine conservation. The initiative produced black cotton t-shirts sold for $17 (US/Canada) or $27 (international), with proceeds donated to ocean-related charities (^[17]). The project’s impact included:

• $300 donation to the Coral Reef Alliance: Raised through t-shirt sales, supporting the organization’s work to increase community capacity for coral reef conservation (^[18]).

• Adoption of “Cut-Tail” the great white shark: Through additional t-shirt proceeds, Wetpixel and Divester readers adopted a 16-foot male great white shark that returned annually to the Farallon Islands, supporting the Shark Trust’s research and awareness campaigns (^[19]).

A community t-shirt design contest was held, with finalists announced and a winner selected (^[20], ^[21]). The winning design was created by community member Elijah Woolery. Only 200 shirts were printed, and XL sizes sold out first (^[22]).

Editorial Role

Volk’s 23 articles in approximately 13 months represented a significant editorial burst. His articles served multiple functions: curating the best gear reviews and tutorials from across the web (Backscatter, DPReview, Ken Rockwell, Douglas Spotted Eagle), providing substantive book reviews, covering science news, and managing community engagement through the t-shirt and conservation initiatives. His writing brought a consumer journalism sensibility to Wetpixel’s editorial output, making technical content accessible through humor and personality.

His active comment participation (14 comments across multiple articles) showed engagement beyond his authored pieces, contributing to discussions on topics ranging from focus lights to shark conservation.

Activity Timeline

• 2006-09: First article published: review of “A Diver’s Guide to Reef Life” (^[23])
• 2006-10: Published seven articles in one month, covering gear comparisons, housing reviews, t-shirt fundraiser, and more
• 2006-10: Launched Divester/Wetpixel t-shirt design contest and sales (^[24])
• 2006-11: Published UK-Germany housing review and deep-sea creatures article
• 2006-12: Reviewed “Silent Symphony” by Tony Wu and William Tan; announced last chance for t-shirt orders (^[25])
• 2007-01: Announced $300 donation to Coral Reef Alliance and great white shark adoption (^[26], ^[27])
• 2007-01: Reviewed “The Art of Diving” by Nick Hanna and Alex Mustard (^[28])
• 2007-02: Published reviews of “Water Vision” and “Oceanos Secretos” (^[29], ^[30])
• 2007-05: Reviewed “Gorontalo: Hidden Paradise” (^[31])
• 2007-10: Final article: review of “A Diver’s Guide to Underwater Malaysia Macrolife” (^[32])