In February 2005, Preston came to visit the Philippines and our first stop (after Manila) was El Nido in Palawan. He didn't have very much time to recover from the jetlag, less than 24 hours after we touched down on the little dirt runway in El Nido on the ITI bush plane we were fifteen meters underwater at Popolcan Island on Palawan's Bacuit Archipelago. This gallery covers some of the...

In April 2006, I was invited by Tubbataha Marine Park Manager Angelique Songco to join the WWF survey trip to Tubbataha aboard the Minerva liveaboard dive boat. Experiencing Tubbataha with Angelique and her amazing staff of marine park rangers is by far one of the highlights of my entire time spent in the Philippines--thanks again for the invitation, Angelique!

In February 2006, Kris, Kristen, and I loaded up our sea kayaks and paddled out from El Nido on a perfect sunny afternoon. We planned to do a loop of about 30 miles, traversing the amazing karst limestone islands of the Bacuit archipelago. We almost finished the loop. But unfortnately a huge storm darkened the sky and threatened to blow us to Malaysia, across the South China Sea. Luckily we were...

El Nido is probably my favorite town in Palawan, and I've been lucky enough to make the trip back there several times since the first visit with Preston in February 2005. Set in a quiet bay with a view dominated by Cadlao, a large tropical island with steep karst limestone cliffs, the town is home to less than 10,000 people. Still it can feel sort of crowded in places because the dramatic...

In November 2007 I joined the marine biologists from the Silliman University Marine Lab in Dumaguete on a field survey of the coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests near Guiuan Island in Eastern Samar. I was assigned to map the boundaries of the coral reefs with a GPS, which basically meant I circled the small islands of the archipelago near Guiuan in a little "bangka" outrigger sea...

Apo Island is by far my favorite dive site anywhere in the Visayas, and over the three and a half years I lived in Dumaguete I was very lucky to visit the island regularly. The famous "Clown Fish City" dive site within the Apo Island Marine Sanctuary is still one of my favorite dives, and many of the clown fish photos you'll find in this gallery were shot there. Special thanks to Liberty for her...

Palawan's Bacuit Archipelago looks a lot like the amazing tropical islands around Southern Thailand near Phuket but without the huge crowds. Sapphire-blue water, white sand beaches and towering karst limestone cliffs makes this one of the most photogenic in the entire Philippines. So it's probably no surprise that one of the most popular travel activities around El Nido is island hopping. This...

Ok, yes, I like to take underwater photos of clown fish. Maybe it's because they're colorful, photogenic, generally stay in one place, and I did like "Finding Nemo". So approximately six years, hundreds of dives, four cameras, and thousands of underwater photos later, these are my favorites. You'll find pleny of "Nemo" look-alikes from the ocellaris variety of clown fish, some pink anemone fish,...

Tubbataha is the most amazing reef I've ever been able to photograph underwater. With visibility sometimes approaching 140 feet and home to some of the healthiest populations of large pelagic fish species and sea turtles in the entire Philippines, we saw something incredible on every dive. Highlights included 'Buknoy' the most photogenic green sea turtle I've ever met, and coming across a...

Siargao was my first introduction to surfing (or trying to surf) big waves. I had heard about Cloud 9 and Siargao from my great friend Sande Fuentes in Dumaguete for years, but since visiting Mindanao was off-limits for Peace Corps volunteers I had to wait until I completed my service in 2006 to visit the forbidden land. On my first visit in October 2006 with my friend Corey, we both felt like we...

Located at the eastern edge of Mindanao in the Philippines, Siargao and Surigao are two of my favorite places to visit in the 'forbidden land'. This photo gallery covers highlights of exploring the interior of Siargao Island near General Luna and the famous 'Cloud 9' surfing wave, as well as shots from around Surigao. Highlights include my favorite photo of a jeepney in Siargao and some very good...

Pamilacan Island, located off the coast of Panglao Island in Bohol makes up the third corner of the Bohol Marine Triangle (BMT) and is an important migratory route for large marine animals such as whales, dolphins, and whale sharks. For centuries, the Pamilacan Islanders hunted these animals for their livelihood, but since the Philippine government outlawed the practice the community has switched...

After teaching the underwater photography seminar in El Nido in early October 2009, I was able to make a long-awaited trip back to Dumaguete. I stayed at Hayahay (thanks again Sande and Sanda!) for a couple nights before making the trip out to Apo Island to stay at Liberty's Apo Island Resort. Apo is easily one of my favorite places to dive in the whole world, and it's amazing how the health of...

Apo Island is one of the best destinations for underwater photography that I've ever experienced. With healthy expanses of hard and soft coral reef teeming with brilliantly-colored schools of tropcial fish such as clown fish, damsel fish, and moorish idols as well as rare and endangered sea turtle species such as hawksbill and green turtles, you're very likely to find an amazing underwater shot...

Aside from doing a lot of scuba diving during the underwater photography class that I taught in El Nido in October 2009, we also had a chance to get out and explore the other Bacuit archipelago islands located near Miniloc Island, including Lagen Island and the amazing beach resort there. I also opted to stick around El Nido for an extra day before flying back to Manila enroute to Dumaguete. One...

In October 2009 I was invited to teach an underwater photography class in El Nido by Island Philippines, a travel magazine that I've worked with for several years. I jumped at the chance to get back to El Nido and the Philippines--thanks again to Lala and Clang for inviting me to teach with George Tapan and Wig Tysmans! We were very lucky to hold our classes at the Miniloc Island, and Lagen...

Island life on Pamilacan near Panglao Island in Bohol is pretty quiet. Most islanders are fishermen, with many also making their livelihoods from raising livestock or leading dolphin watching expeditions in the Bohol Sea. Electricity only runs on Pamilacan for a few hours each night, powered by a diesel generator. Once the generator is off and everything is dark, you can get one of the best views...