Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines: Undercurrent 06/2026

Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines

macro photography at its best

from the June, 2026 issue of Undercurrent

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After a 5-minute boat ride from shore, I backrolled into the house reef at Crystal Blue Resort ("CBR"), a lovely and lush reef with healthy hard and soft corals showing no wear and tear from divers. It teemed with colorful fish, as well as anemones with their attendant clownfish. Anilao, on the island of Luzon, south of Manila, has other colorful dives; two standouts are Cathedral and Koala, where I saw blue ribbon and moray eels, mantis shrimp, octopuses, and an Ambon scorpion fish.

Crystal Blue Resort's dining room Nonetheless, I found a startling counterpoint to these lush reefs. Octo Point surprised me with its utterly barren and desolate bottom, just endless brownish sand in all directions, and not even a piece of coral or fish in sight. A plastic bag floated by, reminding me that junk is not uncommon at some sites.

But then my eagle-eyed guide, Pong (who says his name is like Ping-Pong), pointed out a beautiful nudibranch on the sand. Being a photographer, I lay on the yucky sand and took all the time I needed to set up a shot. While most nudis are exotic and beautiful, the photographer's challenge is to take sharply focused images with the critter's horns (rhinophores) "crispy" sharp, and at the same time minimize the unattractive bottom. Secret Bay, Bubbles, and Red Rock were other sandy sites with innumerable species of nudibranchs, but also flamboyant cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, frog fish, and the occasional highly poisonous, slow-moving, blue-ringed octopus, a unique creature, indeed.

The purpose of my trip was to join a macro photo workshop organized by Backscatter. All the participants were American. The workshop was led by master photographer Mike Bartick, who lives at CBR. He's a well-prepared, articulate teacher who generously responded to questions. The classroom has large open windows that keep the temperature comfortable, and the large, built-in TV monitor was easy to see from anywhere in the classroom. Mike is a pioneer of "black water" diving; night diving in deep, open water next to a 75-foot down line with lights about every 15 feet. Divers, carrying no dive lights, float next to the line in the current and shoot subjects when they enter their focus light beam. It's an extension to the course, and not for the faint of heart....

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