Sometimes I take a step back and try appreciate everything that we have done in Metrophoto. I might sound too self-serving but I’m just really proud of the things we are able to think of and actually execute. Honestly there are times when I say to myself that an idea is too unique and awesome that we don’t think we can outdo it anymore – only to find ourselves pushing the boundaries even further. For those who are frequent visitors of this site and those who view our works regularly, would know that we love shooting our wedding couples with animals. There is this sense of fascination to the idea of something so wild be put together with something so graceful and elegant. We’ve shot horses, sheeps, goats, whales, camels, elephants, and many more but I think that this is the first time that we’re doing something really shocking or should I say electrifyingly scary – jellyfishes. I’ve seen several years back of photos from Japan where a pond is filled with stingless Jellyfishes and have dreamt of shooting there ever since. The opportunity was hard to come by because of the complexity of the concept but I caught a break when I learned that we have the same phenomenon here in Philippines. Now it wasn’t as difficult to do it as ease of accessibility has been improved by a lot – all I needed was a couple who would say yes to it and had the best one with Suzie and Tom.

I honestly pitched this idea to about 4-5 couples before I found Suzie and Tom. I cannot just suggest it to any couple because first, timing of the shoot is of utmost consideration, the jellyfishes are there on certain seasons only thus only couples who can have their shoot on certain months can qualify (the months we thought was the best time to go was actually the worst, so needed luck on our side). Also, while it is in the Philippines, Surigao is still more than an hour’s plane ride away and it’s not that cheap or even convenient to travel to such a remote province and we needed someone who was willing to leave Manila to such a shoot. Lastly, and the most important is of course the client’s willingness to undertake, so to speak, the experience. Even if everyone says that the jellyfishes are stingless and even if you actually see boatmen dive with them, it is still nerve-wracking to think about taking a plunge in open water with hundreds of these enchanted-looking creatures. Needless to say that Suzie and Tom were the perfect couple. They are not fearless but they are astute enough to know that every risk was calculated and mitigated for such a feat to become possible. The upside of the effort was that worthwhile.

I hope you guys like and appreciate this one-of-a-kind shoot that we did swimming with jellyfishes. I’m not sure if something similar will ever happen again, surely not from us as we now move on to different things – or should I say, animals. The biggest of thanks again to Suzie and Tom – I’m extremely grateful to be able to work for clients that knows what they want and are not pleased by simple and easy things especially when it comes to their wedding.