The Dive Dauin Festival’s Underwater Macro & Wide Photography Competition is set to take place in June in Dauin on the Philippine island of Negros Oriental.
The island boasts countless species of nudibranchs, shrimp, crabs, seahorses and ghost pipe fish along with larger megafauna and a wealth of other little critters.
Diving practices are stringently enforced, and judges will disqualify photographers if their images show signs of manipulation or animal stress.
For those craving Wide Angle or somewhat larger marine life, the tiny island of Apo Island located a 35-minute boat ride (5km/3 miles) from the shores of Dauin has been a designated Marine Protected Area (MPA) since 1982, when a marine scientist, Dr. Angel Alcala, who grew up in the region, persuaded the somewhat skeptical locals that setting up a Marine Protected Area would benefit the surrounding fisheries.
His theory was that there would be a spillover of adult fish from the protected area into the surrounding area, where the protected area functions as a shelter for fish to escape, mature and spawn. Fish spawning in the protected area would produce larvae that are carried by the currents to other communities on the reef.
That Marine Protected Area became a marine conservation success story in the Philippines and is the oldest continuous MPA in the country and helped shape the Dive Daiun festival into a macro and wide-angle photographer’s paradise.
This diminutive, little island has played an important role in shaping the marine conservation efforts of the entire country. In fact, such has been the success of the community-based sanctuary that has been established here that it inspired similar projects all over the Philippines and even the globe. As a direct result, there are currently over 1,500 small Marine Protected Areas in the Philippines, started by local communities who have wanted to emulate the success of Apo Island.
The Dive Dauin Festival (originally named dive 7) competition conveys a strong community-based sustainable environmental message with locals, local dive shops, the Department of Tourism and dive resorts working together to organize clean-ups both along the shore and underwater, bringing a unique perspective to the event.
Even the trophies are made from recycled and upcycled materials.
The contest will take place June 25-29, 2025, and over US$10,000/~€8,798 in cash and prizes are set to be won for the best photos taken during the competition.
For sign up for more info, go to divedauin.com.
