iPhone Captures Incredible Empty Wave Footage (Watch)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 2:50 PM ET

To all the surf filmers out there, apologies in advance. You people are legends.

In a new video showcasing the camera capabilities of an iPhone, Apple just dropped a banger clip of empty waves. And yes, they were all shot on that little rectangular device most of us have in our pockets at this very moment – with a waterproof case, of course.

iPhone cameras have come a long way over the years. And in this video, the quality is quite stunning. But when you have waves like this to shoot, it sort of makes sense. If the talent is next level, the director can just sit back and hit record. Check it out.

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Yet, kudos to the lensman who captured this footage. There’s just something about empty, sun-kissed, mutant waves that makes for incredible imagery.

That man is Ryan Pernofski, an Australian photographer who specializes in capturing waves on iPhones. Speaking with Majestic Journal about his untraditional hardware, Pernofski explained:

“I think I got into it because I was seeing these amazing waves while I was surfing and I was just thinking, ‘man, someone needs to photograph this.’ At the time, there weren’t heaps of photographers and it wasn’t as big as it is today. I just thought that no one had photographed what I was seeing.

“Anyways, fast forward quite a number of years, and I had lost my camera and was left with no gear at all, instead I was given an iPhone. I got back into photography when Instagram first came out around 2011 and just started shooting with my iPhone. I remember I had a Lifeproof case that I borrowed from my mom and got back into the water for the first time in 2012.”

As for the equipment, Apple’s latest iPhone, the 16, comes with their best camera yet. Then again, every upgrade does. But anyway, here’s the specs:

“iPhone 16 Pro takes video capture to a whole new level with 4K 120 fps Dolby Vision — our highest resolution and frame rate combo yet. Enabled by the new 48MP Fusion camera with second-generation quad-pixel sensor and our powerful A18 Pro chip, iPhone 16 Pro lets you record 4K 120 fps Dolby Vision in video mode or slo-mo.”

See more of Ryan Pernofski’s imagery here.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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