Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao

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Crystal Blue Resort: "Awesome Macro Photo Workshop at a well appointed dive Resort", Apr, 2023, by Gerald Canning, FL, US ( Sr. Reviewer 8 reports with 12 Helpful votes). Report 12419 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was a macro photo workshop sponsored by Blue Water Photo with two excellent instructors in Erik Luka and Dan Bishop. However, one of the partners in crystal Blue is Mike Barteck, a noted macro photographer who has done 600 dives per year for many years focusing primarily on macro subjects and he actually handled the morning class and photo critique sessions. Anilao is primarily a macro dive destination. Visibility was as low as 15' and as great as 50' with lots of particulate. Since we were shooting macro and super macro, the visibility didn't really impact the pictures. We were assigned to a boat at the beginning of the trip. Each boat carried 4 divers, a guide and boat crew. The crew handled all of the heavy lifting, all we had to do was to walk to the boat. We got plenty of attention and help from the very knowledgeable dive guide. He could pretty much put you on whatever you wanted to shoot. The dive operation was one of the best organized and most efficient that I have ever seen. The camera room was amazing. Each station had about three feet of width, two shelves (bottom one was big enough to contain your dive luggage, a power strip, microfiber towels and everything a photographer needs. The food was excellent with both eye appeal and great flavors. It was a combination of asian and american food. The first class dining may have something to do with Mike's previous life as an Executive Chief. Before this class, I had been taking underwater photos for over 15 years and thought I knew something about it. I had no idea how little I actually knew. I learned more in the ten days I was there than in my entire prior experience. The classes were excellent and one on one help was always available. This was a workshop, which means that it was a lot of work. We had daily assignments to develop the skills taught in class and daily critiques -- something that can be intimidating. However Mike was careful to not make fun or belittle anyone and he would not tolerate anyone else doing the same thing. He explained the things he liked in your picture and things we might want to consider on future shoots. The workshop ended with a photo shootout - two categories: Nudibrahch and non-nudi Macro. One of those categories was won by a TG-6 shooter only emphasizing the pros recommendations of not chasing the latest thing - but to learn how to properly use what we had first. There were divers at this workshop who had done it 2 times before and were still learning. It was a great experience.
Websites	Crystal Blue Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Florida, Caribbean, Indonesia, Philippines, Fiji, Mexico, Maldives, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Hawaii, Red Sea, Palau and California
Closest Airport	Manila	Getting There	Miami to Lax, LAX to Manila
Dive Conditions
Weather	rainy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	81-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	15-50 Ft/ 5-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	None
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	See my previous comments. However I would rate the photo setup as the best I have ever seen. Mike is a macro photographer and he has focused his resort on serving macro divers. He has provided everything a photographer needs and more.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in Philippines/Anilao

Crystal Blue Resort: "Awesome Macro Photo Workshop at a well appointed dive Resort", Apr, 2023,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao