Underwater Photography Guide's 2012 Anilao Underwater Photo Workshop & Shootout

Join us in May 2012 for the 2nd annual Anilao workshop, and some amazing reef and critter diving

Anilao boasts some of the richest reefs in the world. Whether at 10ft or 100ft beneath the surface, you will be inundated with photo subjects that will fill up your memory card before the day is over. Almost all species on our critter list can be found in Anilao - such as Rhinopias, blue-ring octopus, hairy frogfish, flamboyant cuttlefish & Bobbit worms, along with huge schools of jacks, great barracuda, sharks, and beautiful soft corals. Anilao is also the nudibranch capital of the world!

Two workshops offered
April 26th - May 6th
May 6th - May 16th
$1,775 USD for 10 days
$1,350 USD for 7 days

Your hosts are Anilao experts Scott Gietler and Mike Bartick. Mike and Scott know the Anilao reefs inside and out, and will show you where to take that perfect wide-angle, macro or critter behavior shot.

• $1750 includes an amazing 36 dives, including all meals night dives, and transport to/from Manila. Nitrox is just $99 more. This is an awesome deal! You just need to purchase airfare to Manila
• 10 nights, 11 days, 4 dives a day
• Deluxe accommodations in sealed rooms with air-conditioning
• Small 'dive guide to diver' ratios and long dives
• Daily photo clinics and workshops to help you improve your photography
• We will visit the best dive sites early and often! Most sites are just 10-20 minutes from the resort
• May is the best time to dive Anilao, with warm water and great visibility
• Prizes for photographing the most critters, the most nudibranch species, best video, and the best macro, wide-angle, and behavior shots
• Single rooms are available, please email us for rates
• 1 week stays are also available for $1,350
• Photographers with even the smallest point and shoot camera will feel very welcome here, and you will go home with some great shots!
• We will have several boats, so you can dive the type of sites you like

Testimonial from the 2011 workshop

To get a little insight as to what the workshop is like, read the blog entry from one the participants from the 2011 workshop.

Flight information

Arrive Manila airport the morning of first day of the workshop, and leave on the afternoon/ evening on the last day. Manila's airport code is MNL. Please email us for exact recommended departure/ arrival times. We will arrange your transport to the resort.

Deposit

A 20% deposit ($350) holds your spot. Final payment must be made by March 1, 2012.

Contact information

Please email us at trips@uwphotographyguide.com to sign up, or if you have any questions.

Here are the rooms at Crystal Blue Resort, near Anilao's best dive sites. The resort has a bar, restaurant, spa, jacuzzi, awesome food and great rooms - along with a great dive center than pumps Nitrox!

Photograph giant seahorses in soft coral.

Mating mandarin fish, from the Anilao 2011 workshop

Lionfish, from the 2011 workshop

Mantis shrimp with eggs, from the 2011 workshop

Rare pipehorse, from the 2011 workshop

Goby on a sea pen, from the 2011 workshop

Bumblebee shrimp, from the 2011 workshop

Common scene on an Anilao reef, from the 2011 workshop

Flamboyant cuttlefish from 2011 workshop

Spawning anemone, from 2011 workshop, photo by Ingrid Jensen.

Lacy rhinopia, photo by Annika Persson, from the 2011 workshop.

Mimic octopus, from 2011 workshop, photo by Jim Willoughby

Anilao is full of healthy reefs like this one

It's a great place to see the Bobbit worm

Lots of frogfish in Anilao!

We'll find lots of these guys for sure

It's not uncommon to find over 100 nudibranch species on a trip, like these grazing Ceratosoma trilobatum

We also will see tons of crinoids, giant barrel sponges, mantis shrimp, garden eels, gobies, shrimps, crabs, seahorses, pipefish, several octopus species, and every kind of fish imaginable. Our group collectively will probably also find over 100 nudibranch species. There are calm sites, and sites with currents and pelagics. Muck and lush coral sites.

See more photos from Anilao at the Anilao 2011 shootout page, and on our Guide to diving Anilao