Birds of Subic Bay

As a wildlife photographer, one of my many goals was to write and publish a book containing several of my best photographs of Philippine birds. I never thought the day would come when I would have my own book with my own photographs.

Birds of Subic Bay is the first book I’ve authored all by myself. It is a coffee-table book, a photographic compilation of 101 bird species found in Subic Bay, one of the Philippines most treasured birding sites. This project started out as a small pandemic dream spanning 3-4 years of work since the beginning of the lockdown, and seeing it finally come together is incredibly gratifying. This is the first book that also extensively documents and preserves hundreds of bird names in the local Ayta Ambala language by the Ayta Indigenous peoples of Subic. Words aren’t enough to describe the feeling of finally fulfilling one of your goals as a wildlife photographer.

In 2026, Birds of Subic Bay was crowned as the Best Book in Science by the National Book Development Board and the Filipino Critics Circle during the 43rd National Book Awards. It has since made its way across several coffee shops, hotels, and homes across Subic Bay, and it has been used as a gift for several international delegates by the SBMA.