Open Class: Marine Behavior Category First Place Cem Gazivekili from Turkey
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Winners of the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout Finally Revealed

Anilao Underwater Shootout 2018 Winners

The photo entries to the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout showcased the beauty of Anilao and its seas, the home of some of the rarest marine species in the world.

Winners of 2017 Anilao Underwater Shootout
Winners of 2017 Anilao Underwater Shootout photo via FB Page

This Underwater Photography Contest was made in partnership with the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) and was co-organized by Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Dubbed as the “World Cup of Photo Competitions,” the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout brought together 173 of the best divers and underwater photographers from all over Asia, Europe, and North America to show the world Anilao’s immensely rich biodiversity and also to promote the area as a world class diving destination.

The Awarding Night and Closing Ceremony at the Camp Netanya was attended by DOT Secretary Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo, who delivered the keynote address, as well as DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. who officially opened the festivities of the night.

Blackwater Category Winner Open Class - Wu Yung Sen
Blackwater Category Winner Open Class – Wu Yung Sen

Open Class Cephalopods Category

Open Class Cephalopods Category First Place Lilian Ko of Singapore
Open Class Cephalopods Category First Place Lilian Ko of Singapore
Open Class Cephalopods Category Second Place Wen Chih Yen of Taiwan
Open Class Cephalopods Category Second Place Wen Chih Yen of Taiwan
Open Class Cephalopods Category Peichi Chiang of Taiwan
Open Class Cephalopods Category Peichi Chiang of Taiwan

Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category

Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category First Place Wu Yung Sen from Taiwan
Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category First Place Wu Yung Sen from Taiwan
Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category Second Place Hongchao Yao from China
Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category Second Place Hongchao Yao from China
Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category Third Place Navapan Janjarasskul from Thailand
Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category Third Place Navapan Janjarasskul from Thailand

For the Open Class: Macro/Supermacro Category, Wu Yung Sen from Taiwan bagged the first place with his stunning photograph of a glowing crustacean. Hongchao Yao from China was in the second place followed by Navapan Janjarasskul of Thailand in the third spot.

Open Class: Marine Behavior Category

Open Class: Marine Behavior Category First Place Cem Gazivekili from Turkey
Open Class: Marine Behavior Category First Place Cem Gazivekili from Turkey
Open Class: Marine Behavior Category Second Place Seungchul Yang from South Korea
Open Class: Marine Behavior Category Second Place Seungchul Yang from South Korea
Open Class: Marine Behavior Category Third Place Wen Chih Yen from Taiwan
Open Class: Marine Behavior Category Third Place Wen Chih Yen from Taiwan

For the Open Class: Marine Behavior Category, Turkey’s Cem Gazivekili took home the first place for his photo of a wide-eyed fish looking into the camera. Seungchul Yang from South Korea is in the second place and Taiwan’s Wen Chih Yen in the third spot.

Open Class Nudibranch category

Open Class Nudibranch category First Place Cem Gazivekili from Turkey
Open Class Nudibranch category First Place Cem Gazivekili from Turkey
Open Class Nudibranch category Second Place Songda Cai of China
Open Class Nudibranch category Second Place Songda Cai of China
Open Class Nudibranch category Third Place Hakan Basar from Turkey
Open Class Nudibranch category Third Place Hakan Basar from Turkey

Gazivekili also bagged the first place for the Nudibranch category with his symmetrical close-up shot of a nudibranch. The next two spots were taken by Songda Cai of China for the second place and Turkey’s Hakan Basar as the third.

Open Class Fish Portrait Category

Open Class Fish Portrait Category First Place Wen Chih Yen of Taiwan
Open Class Fish Portrait Category First Place Wen Chih Yen of Taiwan
Open Class Fish Portrait Category Second Place Wayne Jones from Australia
Open Class Fish Portrait Category Second Place Wayne Jones from Australia
Open Class Fish Portrait Category Third Place Dennis Corpuz from the Philippines
Open Class Fish Portrait Category Third Place Dennis Corpuz from the Philippines

In the Fish Portrait Category, Taiwan’s Wen Chih Yen got the first place for his photo of a fish with a unique caudal fin. Austria’s Wayne Jones and the Philippine’s Dennis Corpuz won the second and third places respectively.

Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category

Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category First Place PJ Aristorenas
Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category First Place PJ Aristorenas
Marine Behavior category 2nd Place Penn De Los Santos
Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category 2nd Place Penn De Los Santos
Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category 3rd Place Virginie Barfuss-Gofart
Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category 3rd Place Ma. Nerissa Fajardo

Competitors from the Philippines all won the Compact Class: Macro/Supermacro category. PJ Aristorenas came in first followed by Penn De Los Santos and Ma. Nerissa Fajardo for the second and third places.

Compact Class Marine Behavior category

Marine Behavior category category First Place PJ Aristorenas
Marine Behavior category category First Place PJ Aristorenas
Marine Behavior category 2nd Place Penn De Los Santos
Marine Behavior category 2nd Place Penn De Los Santos
Marine Behavior category 3nd Place Virginie Barfuss-Gofart
Marine Behavior category 3nd Place Virginie Barfuss-Gofart

PJ Aristorenas also bagged the first place for the Marine Behavior category with his photograph of a crustacean perched on top of a fish. The Philippines’ Penn De Los Santos took the third place followed by Virginie Barfuss-Gofart from France.

Compact-Nudibranch Category

Compact-Nudibranch Category first place Ronald Dalawampu
Compact-Nudibranch Category first place Ronald Dalawampu
Compact-Nudibranch Category 2nd place East Pardillo
Compact-Nudibranch Category 2nd place East Pardillo
Compact-Nudibranch Category 3rd place Jonathan Christopher Veridiano
Compact-Nudibranch Category 3rd place Jonathan Christopher Veridiano

For the Compact-Nudibranch Category, the first place went to the Philippine’s Ronald Dalawampu for his stunning close-up shot of a blue and orange nudibranch. East Pardillo and Jonathan Christopher Veridiano, both from the Philippines, grabbed the second and third spot.

Compact Class Fish Portrait Category

Fish Portrait Category, Jorge Ida
Fish Portrait Category First Place Jorge Ida
Fish Portrait Category 2nd Place Nancy Berg
Fish Portrait Category 2nd Place Nancy Berg
Fish Portrait Category 3rd Place PJ Aristorenas
Fish Portrait Category 3rd Place PJ Aristorenas

For the Fish Portrait Category, Jorge Ida from the Philippines won the first place. The two other winners were United States’ Nancy Berg and PJ Aristorenas from the Philippines for the third.

Compact-Cephalopod Category

Compact-Cephalopod category Ian Amboy
Compact-Cephalopod category First Place Ian Amboy
Compact-Cephalopod category 2nd Place PJ Aristorenas
Compact-Cephalopod category 2nd Place PJ Aristorenas
Compact-Cephalopod category 3rd Place Eric Yee
Compact-Cephalopod category 3rd Place Eric Yee

The first place for the Compact-Cephalopod category went Ian Amboy of the Philippines followed by fellow Filipinos PJ Aristorenas for the second spot and Eric Yee for the third place.

Anilao Underwater Photography Contest Beginners Category Winner - Ryan Berg from the United States
Anilao Underwater Photography Contest Beginners Category Winner – Ryan Berg from the United States

Special Awards

Special prizes were also given to Ryan Berg from the United States in the Special Beginners category and Yung Sen Wu from Taiwan for the Blackwater/Bonfire category.

DOT-PAL Underwater Photographer of the Year

DOT-PAL Photographer of the Year awards were given to Lilian Koh of Singapore for her Open-Cephalopod photo and to PJ Aristorenas of the Philippines for his Compact-Macro shot.

Open Class DOT PAL Photographer of the Year Lilian Koh
Open Class DOT PAL Photographer of the Year Lilian Koh
Compact-Macro DOT Photographer of the year PJ Aristorenas
Compact-Macro DOT Photographer of the year PJ Aristorenas

“As the event grows and evolves, so does our goal in recognizing and highlighting the importance of Anilao as a dive destination with a unique and critical ecosystem,” said Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. during the awarding ceremonies at Camp Netanya in Mabini, Batangas.

Foreign and local media posed with the judges at the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout
Foreign and local media posed with the judges at the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout

The panel of judges for this year had some of the most respected names in the underwater photography such as veteran National Geographic photographer David Doubilet, aquatic biologist and photojournalist Jennifer Hayes, Palme D’ winning photographer Scott “Gutsy” Tucson, Germany’s Tobias Friedrich; Singapore’s William Tan, and Cebu-based Japanese marine researcher Yoshi Hirata.

The 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout (official website) was made possible in partnership with ScubaLamp Underwater Photography Equipment (SUPE) and Nauticam, and sponsorship from Aiyanar Beach and Dive Resort, Azure Dive Resort (hotel info), Balicasag Island Dive Resort, Buceo Anilao Beach and Dive Resort, Camp Netanya Resort and Spa (hotel info), Fun In Taiwan (FIT), Pier Uno Resort and Dive Center, Pacifica Dive, RGBlue, and Weefine.

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Written by Melo Villareal

Melo Villareal is the Online Publisher of Outoftownblog.com. He is an Accountant by profession who left the corporate world at the age of 23 to explore his beautiful country and the rest of the world. Today, Melo works as a part-time Social Media Manager for local and international clients. His full-time work focuses on discovering interesting culture, explore different cuisines and take memorable photos from local and international destinations he's visiting.

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