In late June 2026, underwater photographers and divers gathered in Dauin, Negros Oriental, for the 6th Dive Dauin Festival International Underwater Photography Competition. The festival paired the creative pressure of a live competition with the reason people return to places like Dauin in the first place: the chance to look closely, move carefully, and share the life of the reef with a wider community.
DIVEVOLK was proud to support the festival as an underwater photography gear sponsor. For us, the most meaningful part of an event like this is not simply the final podium. It is the work that happens around it: divers comparing ideas at registration, photographers learning to notice a tiny subject on a sandy slope, and a community using an ocean gathering to make room for conservation action, too.
Festival registration in Dauin, Negros Oriental. Courtesy of Dive Dauin Festival 2026.
A Global Field of Underwater Photographers
The festival's post-event report records 96 competition participants from 12 countries and 475 submitted images. Its prize packages were valued at PHP 1.476 million, including sponsor gear and resort-stay vouchers. Those numbers matter because they show the reach of a competition built around a real destination and a demanding creative brief—not just an online feed.
For anyone planning a future trip, Sea Explorers' event overview captures the festival format and local setting. And a judge's-eye account from DIVE Magazine describes the contest as a Splash-In: entries are made within a limited timeframe and geography. That constraint changes the task. You cannot rely on an archive; you have to read the conditions, find a subject, and make a considered image in the moment.
DIVEVOLK Supports the Stories Divers Bring Home
The supplied festival materials identify DIVEVOLK as a sponsor of underwater photography gear. That is a natural fit with what the festival celebrates: the patience to see small details, the buoyancy to hold a clean composition, and the willingness to keep learning after each dive.
Whether you shoot with a phone or a dedicated camera, the creative basics stay familiar: get comfortable in the water first, simplify the frame, and let the subject's behavior—not a rushed approach—set the pace. Divers building a phone-based system can explore underwater phone housings, complete SeaTouch 4 Max Kits, and lighting options from our dive lights collection. The right setup should help you stay present underwater, not distract from the dive itself.
Mobile Phone Class: Five First-Place Images, Five Ways of Seeing
The supplied winner cards spotlight the range possible in the Mobile Phone Class. They list the categories and photographers below; they do not specify the camera or housing used for each entry, so these images are celebrated for their authorship and observation rather than attributed to a particular capture setup.
Nudibranch and Fish Portrait — Percival Silvestre
Percival Silvestre earned first place in both the Mobile Phone Class Nudibranch and Fish Portrait categories. The two images make an excellent visual reminder that a strong photograph does not need a large subject: color, texture, and a point of view can give a tiny sea slug as much presence as a reef fish portrait.
Mobile Phone Class, Nudibranch, first place — Percival Silvestre. Credit: Percival Silvestre / Dive Dauin Festival 2026; capture equipment was not specified in the supplied materials.
Mobile Phone Class, Fish Portrait, first place — Percival Silvestre. Credit: Percival Silvestre / Dive Dauin Festival 2026; capture equipment was not specified in the supplied materials.
Macro — Dixon Cogal
Dixon Cogal took first place in Macro with a close, character-rich crustacean portrait. Macro photography rewards an unhurried dive: controlled position, calm finning, and the discipline to keep looking once the first interesting subject appears. If macro is the direction you want to explore, our lenses and filters collection can help you build a setup around close-focus work.
Mobile Phone Class, Macro, first place — Dixon Cogal. Credit: Dixon Cogal / Dive Dauin Festival 2026; capture equipment was not specified in the supplied materials.
Marine Life Behavior — Sahand Saberinezhad
The first-place Marine Life Behavior image by Sahand Saberinezhad lets the story unfold where it should: at a respectful distance. The clownfish, anemone, and eggs together make the frame more than a species portrait; they show a moment of life on the reef. That is the kind of image that rewards patience rather than interference.
Mobile Phone Class, Marine Life Behavior, first place — Sahand Saberinezhad. Credit: Sahand Saberinezhad / Dive Dauin Festival 2026; capture equipment was not specified in the supplied materials.
Wide-Angle Seascapes — Tong Liu
Tong Liu's first-place Wide-Angle Seascapes image brings a sea turtle, reef structure, and surface light into one quiet scene. Its power is the space around the animal. For turtle and reef encounters, that is also the right ethic: observe without chasing, touching, feeding, or positioning wildlife for the shot. The NOAA marine-life viewing guidelines offer useful principles for responsible photography and viewing, while local regulations and dive-operator guidance should always lead on site.
Mobile Phone Class, Wide-Angle Seascapes, first place — Tong Liu. Credit: Tong Liu / Dive Dauin Festival 2026; capture equipment was not specified in the supplied materials.
Photography and Ocean Action Belong Together
The Dive Dauin Festival report also documents Project Pawikan: Turtle Talk, alongside coastal and underwater cleanup activities involving local conservation groups, participants, students, residents, public-safety teams, and other partners. “Pawikan” is the Filipino word commonly used for sea turtles; the Philippine Biodiversity Management Bureau's Pawikan reference listing is a useful starting point for readers who want to learn more about marine-turtle protection in the Philippines.
That link between images and action is worth protecting. Underwater photographs can make people curious about a reef, but the dive itself must leave the place undisturbed. Good buoyancy, secured equipment, a comfortable distance from wildlife, and a willingness to skip a shot are all part of responsible photography. If you are refining those fundamentals, DIVEVOLK's technical support resources are there to help you prepare before your next dive.
Keep the Momentum Going
The 2026 Dive Dauin Festival showed what can happen when a photography competition does more than award beautiful images. It creates a reason for divers to meet, look harder, practice better habits, and connect their creative ambition to the health of the water they love.
For a look back at the previous edition, read our 2025 Dive Dauin Festival story. And when you are ready to prepare your own underwater photography setup, start with the SeaTouch 4 Max Kits or contact us through our contact page for product guidance.
