El Nido, Philippines: A Lifestyle & Travel Portrait Shoot with Marina Bastarache
A celebrity lifestyle and fashion shoot in El Nido featuring Canadian TV host, model and social media influencer Marina Bastarache — sounds like a pipe dream for a guy who primarily shoots beach weddings in the Philippines. I was more than ready to show Mademoiselle Marina my favorite shooting spots in El Nido, but lo and behold, early morning of Valentine’s Day: "Gale Warning. All island tours cancelled."
A fashion shoot in El Nido without access to any of its iconic islands?!? Isn't El Nido essentially about island hopping in Bacuit Bay? It felt like hitting a brick wall when I found out about the coast guard's announcement. And like sea salt sans artisanal ice cream to an open wound, the weather that morning was close to perfect! Well, that was until 2PM. The thing is, even if it was bright and sunny in the morning, it could go really bad and stormy in the afternoon. Anyone who went out for an island hopping tour might not be able to make it back once the waves go pounding. The Philippine Coast Guard made a good call. Seriously.
And I thought we had it all figured out - Snake Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, Entalula and both Lagoons - a private custom tour in a well-planned sequence to minimize photobombers and hordes of selfie-stick'ers; such was Plan A, with at least five sets of swimwear. We already took note what to wear and where.
ENTER: PLAN B. From Bacuit Bay to its bayside beaches. From island to mainland: Corong-Corong, Lio, Nacpan and Las Cabanas - all of which are worthy alternatives having their own unique charm. Am I right, @marinabastarache? *winking smiley*
A celebrity and travel influencer photo shoot in El Nido, Palawan - Marina Bastarache. Lifestyle and fashion photography in the Philippines and Southeast Asia x Guj. Featuring location photos of Lio Tourism Estate, Nacpan Beach and Maremegmeg Beach Bar in Vanilla Beach, El Nido, Palawan, Philippines. February 2018. Marina Bastarache for @juneswimwear and @bikinivillage. Color remastered using redsheep Chromavibe 160M+ September 2020.