Photos reveal daring beauty of Philippine undersea life

Dec 12, 2017
4 min read

Published in the Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section https://lifestyle.mb.com.ph/2017/12/12/photos-reveal-daring-beauty-of-philippine-undersea-life/

AS PART OF significant efforts of putting the Philippines as the new capital of underwater diving and photography, the Department of Tourism (DOT), together with the Philippine Airlines (PAL), recently mounted the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout in Mabini, Batangas, gathering divers and underwater photographers from all over the world. This year’s shootout had been the biggest thus far, participated in by almost 200 photographers-divers.

The undersea photography competition was judged by a panel of notable underwater photographers from here and overseas: National Geographic wildlife photojournalist duo David Doubilet (Lennart Nilsson Award winner) and Jennifer Hayes (aquatic biologist); Palme D’or winner and photographer Scott “Gutsy” Tuason; Singapore-based veteran diver and underwater photographer William Tan; Tobias Friedrich, diver and award-winning photographer from Germany; and Yoshi Hirata, Philippines-based Japanese marine biologist and accomplished underwater photographer.

Doubilet and Hayes highlighted the importance of marine conservation and how photography should show the delicateness of underwater ecosystems, being activists themselves.

“Probably the biggest criterion [for judging the photos] for me is the simple beauty that the photos will project, and that this beauty must come from absolutely no interference or manipulation in the environment, because that’s what we are exactly doing here—showing nature as is so that we may give that idea to the world,” Hayes said the night before the deliberation of the winners.

“The DOT is also leading in the implementation of a strict ‘No Marine Life Manipulation’ policy for underwater photography competitions, employing the assistance of spotters and dive guides to help ensure the protection and conservation of marine life during the competition proper. With the cooperation of the local government units and the resort owners, we have been able to successfully implement this so that the country continues to enjoy Anilao as one of the best dive destinations in the world,’’ Undersecretary for Tourism Development Benito C. Bengzon Jr. explained during the culmination of the five-day event.

“I hope the Anilao Underwater Shootout will be another strong avenue to showcase the country’s dive market development to the rest of the world,” stated Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo. “This event will also help generate employment in the coastal communities, while also promoting the conservation of marine ecosystem.”

“Indeed, events like this pave the way for the international recognition of Anilao tourism,” concurred Mabini municipal administrator Jinky Luistro.

Category winners

There were two major categories in the photo competition—Open (interchangeable lens) and Compact (fixed lens), from which there were five other sub-categories: Macro or Supermacro, Marine Behavior, Nudibranch, Fish Portrait, and this year’s new Cephalopod category. Both classes and all their sub-categories were judged through “fully-blind” decisions.

Winners were rewarded various diving-related prizes, from full scuba suits, diving fins, and halogen lamp attachments, to sophisticated underwater, pressure-proof camera housings

For the Open Class, Macro/Supermacrowinners were Wu Yung Sen (1st place) from Taiwan, Hongchao Yao (2nd place) from China, and Navapan Janjarasskul (3rd place) from Thailand. Cem Gazivekili (1st place) from Turkey, Seungchul Yang (2nd place) from South Korea, and Wen Chih Yen (3rd place) from Taiwan took the prizes for Marine Behavior. Winners for the Nudibranch category were Turkey’s Cem Gazivekili (1st place), SongdaCai (2nd place) from China, and HakanBasar (3rd place), also from Turkey.

Receiving the prizes for the Fish Portrait category were Wen Chih Yen (1st place) from Taiwan, Wayne Jones (2nd place) from Austria, and Dennis Corpuz (3rd place) from the Philippines.

For the new Cephalopod category, Singapore’s Lilian Koh (1st place), Taiwan’s Wen Chih Yen (2nd place), and Taiwan’s Peichi Chiang (3rd place) took home the prizes.

In the Compact Class, the Macro/Supermacro category winners were the Philippines’ very own PJ Aristorenas (1st place), Penn De Los Santos (2nd place), and Ma. Nerissa Fajardo (3rd place).

For Marine Behavior, PJ Aristorenas (1st place) and Penn De Los Santos (2nd place) again took the first two spots, with Virginie Barfuss-Gofart (3rd place) from France completing the list of winners.

The Compact-Nudibranch winners were Ronald Dalawampu (1st place), East Pardillo (2nd place), and Jonathan Christopher Veridiano (3rd place), all representing the Philippines, while the winners for the Fish Portrait category were Jorge Ida (1st place) from the Philippines, Nancy Berg (2nd place) from the United States, and PJ Aristorenas (3rd place), also from the Philippines. Filipino competitors again swept the Cephalopod category, with Ian Amboy (1st place), PJ Aristorenas (2nd place), and Eric Yee (3rd place) taking home the awards.

Two special categories are also offered at this year’s competition: Blackwater and Bonfire, which must feature animals found and photographed by doing either blackwater and bonfire dives; and GoPro/iPhone Special Beginners, a new category for participants who use GoPros, smartphones, and the like for underwater photography.

Receiving the prize for the Special Beginners category was Ryan Berg from the US, while winning the award for the Blackwater/Bonfire category was Yung Sen Wu from Taiwan. The DOT-PAL Photographer of the Year awardees included Singapore’s Lilian Koh for her Open-Cephalopod photo, and the Philippines’ PJ Aristorenas for his Compact-Macro photo.