A GIF of newlyweds celebrating their wedding at a flooded church in the Philippines. (AP Photos/Aaron Favila) |
When the Philippines flooded, AP photojournalist Aaron Favila was there to capture a moment of resilience and love. Here's what he said: The Philippines experiences at least 20 typhoons every year. I have been shooting floods throughout my almost three-decade career as a photojournalist, so I am used to seeing water.
I had done the rounds of floods in the morning and was having lunch at the basement cafeteria of our office. A colleague sent me a message about a wedding at a flooded church in Bulacan province, just north of Manila. I had an hour's window to make it to the venue and had to drive out of town and cross several flooded roads during a heavy downpour. The flooding in the area was too deep for our vehicle to pass, so we had to stop. Luckily, a rescue truck passed by, and I rode that to the church.
I saw the church and jumped out of the truck with my waders on. I arrived just in time before the doors opened for the bride to march down the aisle. Their wedding photographer was setting up the couple for their portraits. I used a telephoto lens for this picture. There were several kissing shots, but this one is a cleaner version with the altar in the background and the flood waters.
I approached this story with a wedding photographer mindset. I knew that I had to show floods, but I also wanted to show more details and emotion of the couple and guests. Weddings are a celebration of love, and I wanted to show that — and the floods. If I was shooting for a deadline, I would have left the church after the first kiss. But for this one, I stuck till the end to make sure I captured every moment … like a wedding photographer.
The story is a unique take on the usual flood pictures. It shows resilience, love and joy.
I was pleasantly surprised at how well the photo was received. Their wedding story was posted everywhere. I guess the world wants to see a lot more love these days. |
