Rum Cay, Bahamas  - Robb Hanrahan confessed – the seasoned videographer was on assignment to shoot tanned and toned stunners for a swimsuit spread when he realized there was something different about this gig. He couldn’t take his eyes off -- the scenery.

“It was breathtaking,” he said. “When you are shooting video and you’ve got the models who are as pretty as the models we took down to Rum Cay and you’re having a hard time focusing on the models because the scenery is so breathtaking, it says a lot,” said Harnahan. A senior editor at Southern Boating magazine, Hanrahan was one of a contingent of models, photographers, make-up artists and producers who flew to Rum Cay in the Southeastern Bahamas for the magazine’s much-anticipated annual swimsuit issue. Though this was the first video shoot, Hanrahan’s photographed it before, but he’s never been as taken with a set as he was with Rum Cay. “You don’t see this kind of scenery in The Bahamas. Pretty beaches, good light, palms, yes. Most of the time you just follow the light. But this was different. It was so dramatic, primitive yet breathtaking. It had some of the most remote, beautiful locations I have ever seen and every part was different. White cliffs on one side of the island, caves on another, then you’d cross over and there were salt flats. Everywhere you went it was amazing, dramatic and wherever you were, you felt like you left the real world behind.”

Under management of Montana Holdings Ltd, the Sumner Point Marina, villas and Out of the Blue restaurant played host to the entourage with locals and Montana Holdings representatives “treating us like special family guests.” Sky Limo provided airline service and the Ministry of Tourism partnered in the shoot because of the excellent exposure for The Bahamas.   

The group toured the island and moved from backdrop to backdrop by SUV, golf cart, truck, buggy, whatever was needed to get from flats to cliffs to caves and back again.

“Getting around was even different and the hospitality was unbelievable. Everybody made you feel like you were part of a family,” said Hanrahan, who had one more confession – being distracted, for once, by the scenery didn’t bother his wife one bit.

“It was not your average beach shot,” says Hanrahan.

The Southern Boating swimsuit issue will be on stands April 1. The editors were so taken with Rum Cay they’ve planned a feature on the island. That will appear in May.