Producer Will Ridgeon talked about his filming experience in the Philippines for the third installment of the award-winning BBC show "Planet Earth."
The second episode of "Planet Earth III" features the frogfish in Dauin, a municipality in the province of Negros Oriental.
In a Q&A sent by BBC to the media, Ridgeon shared why they found Dauin to be an ideal filming location for the 8-part series.
"We were confident that Dauin in the Philippines would be a good place to try and film the clown frogfish. This part of the world is home to some of the most stunning coral reefs," he said.
"But more importantly, Dauin is fantastic for 'muck diving’ -- the sand and sediment between coral outcrops -- where frogfish like to hunt," he added.
Camera operator Sam Lewis and location director Yoland Bosiger also heaped praise on Dauin, describing the place as "fantastic" and "incredible."
"Filming in Dauin, Philippines was fantastic," Lewis said. "There were loads of macro critters to be seen in the areas we were filming and I would highly recommend visiting there if you are into your underwater macro photography. It was pretty tough not to get distracted as there were so many other things happening nearby."
"Dauin is one of the most incredible places to film little, macro critters in the sand and muck. You have everything from little cuttlefish and octopus to sea snakes and lionfish," added Bosiger. "It is alive with the most alien crazy creatures -- it was a real privilege to be able to film there and the technical dive facilities in the area were fantastic."
Ridgeon hopes that viewers of "Planet Earth III," which will premiere on BBC Earth at 8 p.m. on October 29, will "feel connected to nature in a way that encourages them to care about it."
"We hope by introducing them to astonishing new places and the unique animals that live there in such an intimate and immersive way, people will share our deep passion for the natural world and feel inspired to tackle the challenges it now faces. After all, how will people care about things they aren’t aware of?" he said.
When asked to give advice to travelers who may be inspired to travel to the featured destinations on "Planet Earth," Ridgeon replied: "It is very important to make sure you only dive with safe and responsible dive companies -- so it’s good to do some research before you go."
"Southeast Asia and the Philippines offers some of the best diving in the world -- it is known as the 'Coral Triangle' for a reason, but there are fascinating things to see away from coral. Diving on the sediment, known as muck diving, can bring you face to face with some of the tropical shallow sea’s weirdest inhabitants -- and a good place to find frog fish," he said.