UWPG Anilao Workshop Participant Photos

Anilao workshop participants share their winning underwater photography from the trip

By Scott Gietler

The 2011 Anilao workshop was a blast. Twenty-five divers boarded six boats each day for some of the best macro and critter diving in the world, in search of Rhinopias, seahorses, ghost pipefish, frogfish and much more. No one was disappointed! Here's an online review that one of the participants wrote about the workshop.

Most people shot macro on just about every one of the 35 dives, but there were a few wide-angle photos taken. It's not that there weren't great underwater wide-angle ops, it is just that no one wanted to miss out on a great critter sightings!

The workshop was May 20th through 30th. Crystal Blue Resort did a great job feeding us, filling our tanks with nitrox, and making sure everything ran smoothly, even when we had to launch from an alternate location one day due to bad weather.

Critter sightings including everything imaginable - rhinopia, seahorses, pipefish, frogfish galore, bobbit worms, mimic & wonderpus octopus, stargazers, mantis shrimp with eggs, colmani shrimp, clingfish, bumblebee shrimp, harlequin shrimp, sawblade shrimp, soft coral crabs, flamboyant cuttlefish, many clownfish eggs, ambon scorpionfish, mushroom coral pipefish, squid, cuttlefish, sea snakes, leaf scorpionfish, cuckatoo waspfish, dragonets, mandarin fish, and so much more!

Many thanks to all the participants, the dive guides, Mike Bartick who helped me run the trip, and resort owner Emma Bodota who personally flew over from the USA to make sure everything ran smoothly at the resort.

Nice view from the resort. These are the jukong boats used to get to the dive sites, usually about 15 minutes away. Photo by David Yang.

We are returning to Anilao in May of 2012, please email trips@uwphotographyguide.com for more details! 2012 trip info is here

Stay tuned for part II of this article, a workshop photo essay from the trip leaders Scott Gietler & Mike Bartick.

Congrats to all the excellent photographers!

Goby on hard coral, 1st place in dSLR portrait category. Photo by Annika Persson. Nikon D80,  F16, 1/125th, ISO 100, 105mm lens. A special congrats to Annika for having so many winning photos in the competition.

Damselfish, 2nd place in dSLR portrait category. Photo by Karl Nemeskeri. Canon 7D, F11, 1/200th, ISO 100, 100mm lens

Crinoid shrimp, 1st place in dSLR macro category. Photo by Gabriel Se. Nikon D300.

Chromodoris nudibranch, 2nd place in dSLR macro category. Photo by Annika Persson. Nikon D80,  F14, 1/125th, ISO 100, 60mm lens. We saw well over 50 nudibranch species, although previously we've seen over 100.

Anemone Fish, 1st place in dSLR behavior category. Photo by Terence Lee. Nikon D40, F13, 1/250th, ISO 200, 105mm VR lens

Clownfish aerating eggs, 2nd place in dSLR behavior category. Photo by Wendy Taylor. Nikon D300

Crab on coral, 1st place in compact macro category. Photo by Larry Collison. Casion EX-Z1200, F8, internal flash

Pygmy seahorse, 2nd place in compact macro category. Photo by Ingrid Mollan Jensen. Canon G11, F4.5, 1/125th, ISO 80, Epoque macro lens. There were pygmy seahorses at 5 different dive sites.

Tassled frogfish, 1st place in compact portrait category. Photo by Michelle Hoalton. Sea & Sea DX-2G, F11, 1/125th

Mimic octopus, 2nd place in compact portrait category. Photo by Jim Willoughby. Sea & Sea DX-860G

Spawning anemone near dusk, 1st place in compact behavior category. Photo by Ingrid Mollan Jensen. Canon G11, F4, 1/60th, ISO 80. Publisher's note - definitely one of the most stunning photos from the trip imho!

Clownfish with eggs, 2nd place in compact behavior category. Photo by Michelle Hoalton. Sea & Sea DX-2G

Diver and anemone fish at Kirby's Rock, 1st place in wide-angle category. Photo by Annika Persson. Nikon D80, F16, 1/200th, ISO 200, Tokina 10-17mm @ 10mm

Diver and fish, 2nd place in wide-angle category. Photo by Karl Nemeskeri. Canon 7D, F18, 1/50th, ISO 400, Tokina 10-17mm @ 10mm

Underwater Photos from 3rd place winners

Wrasse cleaning goatfish, 3rd place in dSLR behavior category. Photo by Robin McMunn. Canon T2i, F7, 1/80th, ISO 100, 60mm lens

Pygmy seahorses, 3rd place in dSLR macro category. Photo by Wendy Taylor. Nikon D300

Wonderpus octopus, 3rd place in dSLR portrait category. Photo by Robin McMunn. Canon T2i, F9, 1/200th, ISO 100, 60mm lens. Pubishers note - I think almost everyone saw a mimic and/or wonderpus on this trip, expect for me!

Snail, 3rd place in compact macro category. Photo by Larry Collison. Casio EX-Z1200, F8, internal flash

Spiny Devilfish, 3rd place in compact portrait category. Photo by Eric Liebscher. Olympus E-PL1 @42mm, F18, 1/160th, ISO 160

Octopus in shell, 3rd place in compact behavior category. Photo by Eric Liebscher. Oly E-PL1 @42mm, F8, 1/160th, ISO 160

Four Lizardfish, 3rd place in wide-angle category. Photo by Michelle Hoalton. Sea & Sea DX-2G

Lacy Rhinopia, HR in portrait category. We are displaying this photo because we really wanted to show off this Rhiopia! Photo by Annika Persson. Nikon D80, F13, 1/60th, ISO 100, 60mm lens

A couple excellent photos that didn't make it into the competition...

Photo by David Yang, Anemone Fish, Nikon D7000

Photo by Bonnie McKenna, Juvenile Catfish swimming over coral. Olympus E-PL1

Anthias and Crinoid, photo by Robert Casagrande. Nikon D90, Tokina 12-24mm lens @12mm, F10, 1/60th, ISO 200. Robert had eggs for breakfast, which he says helped him get this nice wide-angle shot.

Further Reading

Diving Anilao for Underwater Photography

Ultimate Underwater Critter List

Photographing Frogfish

Tips for improving your macro underwater photography