Amazing Anilao diving--unique sea anemone

[eileenchangs 1]

Amazing Anilao diving , good for wide-angle and macro-, super-macro photography , I saw one very special, beautiful and colorful sea anemone in dive site of secret bay ( day dive , water depth 12 meters, water temperature 26 ), The DM " Mr. Ditto "of Club Ocellaris say it just appear since March 2011. The recent hottest critter day dive site is " Mato ", night dive site is " Anilao pier ( the same site as Anilao fishmarket )"----lots of critters including pairs of Ambon scorpionfish, file fish, many stargazer, giant lizar fish,thorny seahorse......... . see my photos :

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21146950@N00/sets/72157626561981470/

 

 

Perry Kuo

[troporobo 244]

Hi Perry -

 

You consistently get some amazing shots in Anilao, I am envious! The octopus in the glass jar is just fantastic. Congratulations

 

I just got back to Manila this afternoon after the long weekend, and I think we may have passed each other in the water. I think I shot the same white frogfish - the pattern sure looks identical - was that taken at Kirby's yesterday? I think I recognize your model, as our party of three was coming back anticlockwise and we passed some photogs going clockwise at about that point. Did you notice a clumsy amateur with an Olympus rig? If so that was me

 

Are you a Philippines resident? If so we should meet up some time and swap tips. We stay close to Dive Solana when we're down there

 

Cheers,

 

Robert

[Bent C 18]

Hi Perry

 

Loads of cool subjects! How many days of diving did it take to get the pictures?

 

Anilao is on my to-do-list. Are there any specific dive ops you would recommend?

 

Regards

 

Bent C

[Stewart L. Sy 12]

I can't wait to get there in October! =)

 

Stu

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi Robert :

 

I am from Taipei, Taiwan, regularly, annually dive Anilao , the only choice of dive shop is Club Ocellaris, I dive Kirby's rock on April 23 , morning first dive , lots of divers over there. My DM " Mr. Ditto " found 3 huge frog fish on the wall. Nice to see you here, maybe see you in the water next time.

 

Hi Bent C :

 

I and my buddy spend 4 days ( 2 dives on arriving day, 4 dives x 2 days , total 10 dives ),I shoot wide-angle ( Nikon D2x + Tokina 10-17 mm lens ), my buddy ( also U/W lady model ) shoot macro and supermacro ( Nikon D90 + 60 mm lens ) , that's why we can make some many pictures in 10 dives. The DM is very important in Anilao diving, the best DM in Anilao is from Club Ocellaris , their 3 DM ( Peri, Alex, Ditto ) own degree of marine biology ,they frequently check, study and research all of critter dive sites in different season, I can shoot as many as critters under their assistance, I was assisted by Mr. Ditto in this trip. please contact resort's manager Mr. Boy Venus for details .

 

Regards

 

Perry Kuo

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi All :

 

The e-mail of Mr. Boy Venus is boyv@clubocellaris.com .

 

Perry Kuo

[Bent C 18]

Hi All :

 

The e-mail of Mr. Boy Venus is boyv@clubocellaris.com .

 

Perry Kuo

 

Thanks, Perry. I am still impressed by the number of really cool subjects you have not only found but also managed to take a picture of during that short amount of dives.

 

Cheers Bent C

[frisco 0]

Great photo strip Perry !!! It's a pity we did not have the chance to meet in Club Ocellaris !!! I was there from March 26th to April 10th ..... Club Ocellaris is indeed the place to be if you love macro U/W photography and I must say that Boy Venus (the owner), Peri Paleracio, Alexis Principe and Ditto De La Rosa (the Divemasters) and all Club Ocellaris staff put their best efforts to let us enjoy the perfect vacation !!! You can check my macro galleries on Anilao 2011 Photo Gallery .... I confirm that the hottest dive sites are Bethlehem and Mato for nudibranchs, Murales for reef scenery, Anilao Pier for night diving and Mainit Much (a.k.a Secret Bay) for muck diving.

 

All the Best ..... Francesco

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi frisco :

 

Very good photo album, I stay there during April 21-24 , no chance to say hello to you . wish to meet you next time.maybe you should consider to shoot some great wide-angle pictures in your next trip. This is my Anilao photos in my 2010 trip ( I shoot macro wide-angle photography ).

 

Anilao in 2010 : http://www.flickr.com/photos/21146950@N00/...57624145255433/

 

Regards

 

Perry Kuo

[shchae 3]

Perry,

You took great pictures & I like very much.

When you say 'Mato', are you refering near big rock in front of Outriggers/SM resort ?

 

Sam

Edited April 28, 2011 by shchae

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi Sam :

 

Yes , The dive site " Mato " is located as you mentioned. I saw lots of kids were playing in the rockside beach. but lots of critters, fire sea urchin....over there no deeper than 10 meters water depth, even 6 ghost pipefish in the rock in 3 meters water depth.late afternoon dive is very good. the nearest resort is outrigger and pier uno resort.

 

Perry Kuo

[eyu 27]

Thanks for your report, well done.

 

I'm currently in Analio and agree 110% that the diving is really great here. This is my first visit and I am already planning another trip back.

 

Yesterday at "Mato" we saw at least 6 ghost pipefish, colman shrimp, whip coral shrimp, sea snakes and a black frog fish.

 

Also, at "Sun View" we saw a purple/blue lacy rhinopia.

 

Elmer

Edited April 29, 2011 by eyu

[shchae 3]

Hi Sam :

 

Yes , The dive site " Mato " is located as you mentioned. I saw lots of kids were playing in the rockside beach. but lots of critters, fire sea urchin....over there no deeper than 10 meters water depth, even 6 ghost pipefish in the rock in 3 meters water depth.late afternoon dive is very good. the nearest resort is outrigger and pier uno resort.

 

Perry Kuo

 

O.K. Thanks for the confirmation. I will be there on Tuesday.

Also, glad to hear water temp is 26 C degree & that is normal temp there. It was 23 C two weeks ago.

 

Elmer,

Also, thanks for the update. Glad to know Colman shrimps are back there. I could not see even single

Colman shirmp in Basura where we used to see 10-20 in a dive.

 

Sam

Edited April 29, 2011 by shchae

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi Elmer :

 

So lucky you are, you saw " Rhinopias " yesterday ? where is the dive site " sun view " , how deep to find rhinopias ? I can not wait to see your great pictures ?

 

Hi Sam :

 

My DM " Ditto " did not recommend the dive site " Basura " recently, because it is almost totally destroyed by typhoon last year . all of fire sea urchin is gone. but many urchin with resident paired Colemen shrimp appear in the dive site " Mato".

 

Perry Kuo

[giz1968 0]

wow

totally blown away by your pics.

i have been looking around for my next destination in the philippines and it looks like anilao is the place.(easy to travel to as well)

if i get pics 10% as good as yours i would be happy.

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi Giz :

 

Just contact with Club Ocellaris , all of his eagle-eyed DM will never make you disappoint . Besides, the travelling condition is much better than before, the connecting highway has finished construction, only 2 hours from Manila airport to Club Ocellaris . very easy to travel. Actually speaking, I do not like Philippine domestic flight, esp. Cebu pacific----very strict regulation on your weight, even hand carry luggage. they treat every foreigner as thief .check and repeat check your luggage weight. So Anilao--the best macro diving destination in the Philippine ,it is the best choice for you.I always can do one afternoon and one night dive on the arrival day.

 

Regards

 

Perry Kuo

[sasdasdaf 2]

Perry,

 

Funny you mention traveling conditions. I have never enjoyed travel in and out of the Philippines (much less domestically within the Philippines) as the airport and ground infrastructure have never been great. NAIA must be one of the worst airports of its size in the region. The roads have indeed improved a lot - the trip now takes 2 hours+ instead of the 3 hours+ it sometimes used to take if traffic was heavy. I have a friend who got stuck on the highway for 12 hours when she traveled during Easter (a time of heavy travel in the Philippines due to large Catholic population) a few years ago! But the macro diving in Anilao is indeed fantastic and I will keep going back.

[giz1968 0]

hi perry

i always seem to bypass anilao on my way to pg,where i have been 4 times,my wife is filipina so we always holiday in the pi,(not a problem for me )next trip is march 2011,was thinking of going back to tubbataha,but i feel is not good value for money,the diving is good but the liveaboard boats are not.

do you have the contact details for club ocellaris?

also i notice you have been to donsol,would you reccomend?

kind regards

[troporobo 244]

Regarding Donsol, I've been twice and highly recommend it. Swimming with the whale sharks is an experience not to be missed. Seriously, do it!

 

It is not a great photo outing however. Scuba and flash are not allowed, and the visibility is often 3-5 meters, so its pretty much all I can do to just keep up with the sharks while snorkeling on the surface and pushing a camera with one hand while paddling with the other. There are some crappy shots taken with a compact at this link, check the video to get a feel for the experience:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10227673@N00/...57623750834718/

 

There is a dive site about an hour away called Manta Bowl where some people get good shots of mantas but again the visibility in March-April is pretty poor.

[eyu 27]

Just to let you know, the water temperature is currently 82 degrees.

 

The Lacy Rhinopia was at 50 ft

 

Elmer

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi Elmer :

 

Which dive site did you find rhinopias ? Does it regularly stay there ?

 

Regards

 

Perry Kuo

[eyu 27]

Hi Elmer :

 

Which dive site did you find rhinopias ? Does it regularly stay there ?

 

Regards

 

Perry Kuo

 

Perry,

 

This was a rare fine, a purple lacy rhinopia. It was the first one that one of our guide has seen in his years of diving. We went back the next day and it was not there at "Sun View".

 

Elmer

[eileenchangs 1]

Hi Elmer :

 

So lucky you are to find purple lacy rhinopias !! where is located the dive site " sun view " ? which resort did you dive with ? the name of the DM to find rhinopias ? Thanks

 

Hi troporobo :

About Donsol diving , many whale shark there, but very difficulty to get good pictures because no scuba, poor visibility. I first visit donsol in 2007 with good pictures because I use spair air ( small tank for snorkeling, free diving use ), but it is not alloed now. I suggest South leyte bay diving during March--May to have higher chance to dive ( scuba is OK , good visibility ) with whale shark .

 

 

Regards

 

Perry Kuo

[giz1968 0]

cheers all

now i am split between leyte and anilao(maybe i will do both)

i did see my first whaleshark in bohol in janurary,but was very distant

am off on a liveaboard to the red sea in july so maybe i will get lucky there

not really got into macro yet,and still cant decide wether macro wet lenses (inon)are worth having(i know most of you guys use slr,so probably dont have an opinion) i will check previous posts to see what i can find.

regards to all

[Stewart L. Sy 12]

Giz,

 

Leyte is likely your best bet to see whale sharks, but the best time to go is late November to March. Time your trip around the full moon too as we had our best sightings +/- 2 days off the full moon and then dropped rapidly after that. The reefs of Southern Leyte are some of the best I've seen in the Philippines. Gorgeous walls, lots of soft coral. No big schools of fish though.

 

Anilao can be dived year round. There's a resident school of trevally at the Twin Rocks dive site. Macro is beyond compare and there are great Wide Angle opportunities there as well.

 

You can see a fair bit on my website, choose the Underwater Scenics, Underwater Critters and Aquatica Galleries.

 

Cheers

 

Stu