I have always been fascinated with exploration, particularly in its golden age in our history. One that is very compelling to me was the discovery of the tip of Africa, when a series of crucial events had forced explorers to find routes to the east around unchartered oceans. Bartolomeu Dias discovered the tip of Africa after treacherously followed the coast of the continent and named it the Cape of Good Hope. Today’s feature brings us to this very iconic location. Not only was my dream of visiting The Cape of Good Hope got realized, but I was actually able to do it while pursuing a passion that has defined my life the most – photographing amazing couples and their love for one another. I must say that it is even extra special to have the experience with Shahanie and Austin. These two are connected to me in many different ways and to be able to explore and shoot the wonders of South Africa with them was nothing short of me, having the time of my life. From the Cape of Good Hope, we went on to shoot most of the country’s amazing vistas including their famed penguins of which concept, we had to tirelessly pursue, to achieve. We are proud of this Africa pre-wedding shoot. It’s Metrophoto, it’s South Africa, and it’s with a Metrophoto bride – brides actually if you count Steph, Shahanie’s sister who went with us – all the makings of something truly distinct and elevated. Please […]

There is a quiet allure that Davao possesses – the seemingly slower pace of life they adhere to leaves me nostalgic for the days back then when the passing of time was more an abstract concept rather than everyday reality. And I was very much looking forward to that – something laidback in terms of pacing, just taking everything in, yet getting into the groove of being very intense when it was called for. The results were abstract and also real, a combination that’s difficult to grasp, but amazing in all its aspects.  This was one of those shoots that really got my creative juices flowing since we traversed into three stunning locations in Davao, and the nearby (and the not-so-nearby) locations. We started at the spectacular Yura Highland Resort, then to the Kalipay Museum in Davao, and finished at the quaint surf town of Mati.  Each site paved the way for me to really experiment with new and exciting environments to highlight how good-looking this couple is and the places they were in.  What really took each shot to the next level was Claire’s beauty; her timeless features breathed such a serene brightness into each frame, and her courage to make my every idea possible – she was outdoing herself set after set (check the BTS video to see what I mean). Justin, of course, complemented her perfectly and was such a gentleman throughout this week-long shoot, making sure that it was also a time for us to enjoy […]

I have been to many parts of the country, like in many many. But when Kara and Martin said that we would shoot in Samboan, that’s a name I hadn’t heard before, much more visited. I wouldn’t say I like surprises, but I like unusual things, and a shoot on the edge of Cebu Island sounds like it will be both.  As it turned out, the surprises were many: we were driven to Samboan at breakneck speed by a driver that holds the record for the fastest Cebu-Samboan trip (he’s an ambulance driver, so that says it all) – I enjoyed that drive, so much (a surprise in itself). Another surprise, a challenging one, was the heavy downpour before we began our hike to the waterfalls – we had just one day to shoot, and there were things that we could not afford to compromise. The final surprise was Kara and Martin, okay, maybe this wasn’t a surprise, but I had never met these two prior to arriving in town. They were just extremely pleasant and beautiful people that I thought we should have stayed there a couple of days more (surely not to hike again – maybe just stare at the endless vistas surrounding the place).  You will imagine all these as we share with you the complete set of photos from this shoot that took us to the end of the country and even back in time. It gives me all great feelings remembering how fantastic that day […]

Our entire South America shoot took 11 days and even more number of flights. We went to two amazing countries and stayed in 7 different hotels. Those numbers sounded tiring but it is nothing compared to 5100 – the number I will never ever forget, the number that almost put us in a coma. 5100 meters is the height, above sea level, of Vinicunca or Peru’s Rainbow Mountain. We were in such high spirits after a successful shoot in Machu Picchu. Little did we know that at this height, altitude sickness will sap all our confidence and energy that will leave us vulnerable throughout the trip. To give one a perspective, 5100m is quite high. It is higher than any of mountain in the rockies of North America and almost as high as the highest peaks in both Europe and Africa. In fact, Mount Fuji in Japan tops up at a mere 3500m. The problem we had was a combination of negligence and over-confidence. Our guide kept on telling us that the height is 5100m, but we didn’t bother to check what that number meant. We did read reviews that many people suffer from altitude sickness in Cusco, but after a spending a symptom-free couple of days in Machu Picchu without having to acclimatize, we thought we were fine. We planned to breeze through the shoot in the Rainbow mountain and still shoot in Cusco in the afternoon. But at 3am, my head was pounding already. The next several hours […]