This Baroque church with Gothic spires stands in the middle of Jaro district in Iloilo City, the richest district in Panay island during the Spanish colonial period. The cathedral aptly became the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro, one of the oldest in the country, which encompasses the whole province of Iloilo and the nearby Guimaras island.



The cathedral was built in 1864 when Pope Pius IX declared Jaro a diocese. An earthquake in 1948 damaged the church but it was restored in 1956 by the Jose Ma. Cuenco, the first archbishop of Jaro. (information culled from http://www.exploreiloilo.com)

A collection of life size statues of male saints line the main corridor of the cathedral, probably Jaro's answer to Molo district's Feminist Church. I wasn't able to take photos of the statues at the time of my visit because the interiors were under restoration work (November 2009).



The cathedral is also a shrine dedicated to the devotion to Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria (Lady of the Candles). The 400-year old miraculous statue can be seen on a platform on top of the main door. Pope John Pall II canonically crowned the statue during his visit in 1982. It remains to be the only religious icon in the Philippines to have been personally crowned by the Pope.



Another interesting fact about Jaro Cathedral is its belfry is not within its campus, its right across the street in Jaro Plaza.



The bell tower is actually a remnant of the original church that was destroyed by an earth quake.



You may also want to visit the following churches in Iloilo:

• St. Anne Parish (The Feminist Church, Molo district)
• Miagao Church (UNESCO World Heritage, Baroque Churches of the Philippines)

During the Lenten season and especially during the Holy Week a lot of us Filipinos observe the tradition of "visita iglesia" or "church visits". The Philippines, being predominantly Christian, has countless beautiful churches with rich histories (as a result of more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule). This post kicks off a series of features on churches you may want to consider visiting.

The church of Our Lady of Caysasay can be found in the quaint town of Taal (famous for its old colonial houses like the Villavicencio house) in the province of Batangas.This small church is one of the most photogenic churches I've come across.



The image of Our Lady of Caysasay has a very interesting story. It was told that in the year 1603, fisherman named Juan Maningcad fished the little statue of the Blessed Virgin of Immaculate Conception out of water in a small village called Caysasay.

The statue was placed under the care of Doña Maria Espiritu, the widow of the town’s judge, who had a special urn made for its safekeeping. The statue somehow has a penchant for disappearing from the urn. The villagers did a vigil one night and saw with their own eyes how the statue would leave the urn and return after some time. When they followed the statue, it led them to the place where it was originally found. The statue was given to the parish priest for safekeeping but the statue would still leave the urn until it completely disappeared one day.



The statue was found again after 8 years by two women gathering firewood. They saw the statue atop a tall sampaga bush with two lighted candles on each side, amongst kingfisher birds or “casaycasay” (the Spaniards who had trouble pronouncing the word called them “caysasay”).

A small chapel was built on the exact spot where the image was found. Miracles were reported over the years. The most notable one was when the workers building the chapel prayed for drinking water and fresh water gushed forth from a rock. Twin wells were made and an arch was constructed over them. The water from the nearby stream and the wells (called Miraculous Wells of Sta Lucia) is believed to have healing properties.



Today only the arch remains, the original chapel was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. However miraculous spring water continues to flow in the current shrine’s front entrance.

Information about Our Lady of Caysasay Church was culled from www.caysasay.com and  wikipedia. If you happen to be in Taal, the Basilica of St. Martin de Tours is also a must visit. The facades of Our Lady of Caysasay and Basilica of St. Martin de Tours are best seen at sunset.

The thundering sound of water falling from a 40-meter drop filled the huge gorge as the warm afternoon sun made the cliff walls glow. The volume of water flowing down belied the fact that it is currently summer here and the ongoing drought (brought about by the El Niño phenomenon) has wreaked havoc across the country - drying up watersheds and lakes, and reducing once magnificent waterfalls to a trickle. Buntot Palos (literally translates to “Eel’s Tail”) seemed to be immune from the effects of the drought.

trident form (notice the people for scale)

Buntot Palos is more popularly known (and aptly named too) as Hidden Falls among the locals. Situated on the edge of the Sierra Madre mountain range in the lake side town of Pangil, its close proximity to Manila makes it an ideal destination for hikers and mountaineers. Although it’s not as popular a camping destination as its neighbor Mt. Romelo (which boast of at least 5 waterfalls, including Buruwisan Falls), rappellers frequent the Hidden Falls for its vertical walls.

It rained for a few days before I trekked there with a fellow outdoor photography enthusiast. The light rains (which did not mean the end of the drought, as the weather bureau clarified) brought a brief respite from the summer heat and refilled the small streams and springs. But it meant a muddier and more slippery trail. The trails, which are shared with horses and (water) buffalos, had been battered with hooves; mud in some portions is half a foot thick. Our guide assured us that the trail’s condition is still good compared to how it is during the rainy season. (Photo above courtesy of a hiking buddy, Christian dela Cruz)

The hike was comfortable, no drastic elevation gain. We manage to reach the campsite within 2 hours of moderate hiking. We got to the campsite first; setup our tent and made coffee before another group arrived. Soon the small campsite (which can accommodate less than 20 2-person tents) was full.

The drone of the rushing water can be heard from the camp. It’s a still a few minutes hike down to the falls on steep trails. A portion runs through some slippery boulders and ropes are in place to aid climbers.

It was almost noon when I was finally able to get down to the falls and do an ocular. The midday sun prevented me from getting any useable photos. I slipped on the way down, hit my padded bag on a rock and somehow cracked by circular polarizer. Luckily my lens was unharmed. So I ended up shooting with just an ND8 filter.

more subdued lighting

After lunch we made our way down the gorge again for another try at photographing the falls. This time the passing clouds helped, covering the sun and acting like a softbox. The remaining challenge was to find a suitable POV one without people in them. By mid afternoon almost everybody from the campsite was down at the falls enjoying its cool water. With long exposures, most of my photos have “ghosts” in them.

a closer look

We stayed a bit late and waited for the sunset. I was able to take a few exposures with the remaining ambient light before it got too dark. One group foolishly remained (and they don’t even have flashlights!) and got lost on their way back to the campsite. They wandered aimlessly for more than 2 hours before being found by the search party.

I woke up early the next morning and hiked down (again) while the rest were still recovering from the “effects” of last night’s socials. Lighting was great after sunrise. The waterfall faces the northwest so it’s back lighted at sunrise but an hour after sunrise the whole gorge is filled with soft even light.

Buntot Palos after sunrise

Last weekend was two fun days of sun, sea, and sand with a group of enthusiastic photographers in a workshop about outdoor photography. The venue: the scenic coastal barangays of Osmena and Tambobong in Dasol Pangasinan.

I welcomed the chance to visit the beautiful town of Dasol, a place whose rustic beauty, unspoilt beaches, and friendly folks earned a special place in my heart. The chance to share the place with kindred spirits and at the same time impart my own humble knowledge on outdoor photography was too good a chance to pass up.



A golden sunrise greeting us in Tambobong after 6 hours of travel. The stress of the midnight drive suddenly went away as my bare feet touched the fine sand of the beach. The morning air was surprisingly cool; it was a great relief from the hot and humid air of the city. We got right down to business and captured the first light of the day.


the group in Balinmanok (by Mac Centeno)

Our first destination after freshening up (read: lecture + breakfast) was Balinmanok, one of the small coves along the shores of Tambobong.



The workshop was designed to let the participants enjoy the place too, aside from practicing shooting techniques. There we discussed possible compositions and techniques that we will later use for shooting the sunset. With some workshop participants as willing models, an outdoor portraiture session soon ensued while some enjoyed the crystal clear waters.



By late afternoon we proceeded to the northern most tip of Tambobong beach to a place called Cabacungan cove. Its a great place for shooting the sunset, with lots of stuff that can be used for foregrounds (i.e. rocks, coastal shrubs and plants, etc). The trip there entails a boat ride plus a short hike ("short" by my standards, as one of the participants jokingly remarked). The sharp rocks and the thorny shrubs are all worth it as soon as we reached the cove. It was pure and raw coastal beauty.



The participants were able to capture an amazing set of images that afternoon (too many to feature here in this entry, you can view some of their work in this flickr thread. ). Different techniques in shooting sunsets (or sunrises) such as effective use of silhouettes were employed. Some of the participants finally realized (for the first time) that having the right tools (i.e CPLs and graduated neutral density filters) makes a lot of difference in getting your shot right in the camera. We did not stop shooting until the last colorful light of the day finally vanished.



We got another chance to shoot sunrise the next day. Although our plan to make the 4AM trip to Colibra island did not push through ( the cold weather made it more difficult for me to wake up everybody :D ), our alternative location proved sufficient.



By mid morning we were on the outrigger boats again enroute to Colibra island. This small uninhabited island is just 45 minutes away from Tambobong beach and is a perfect place for beach bumming.



The shooting pace was more relaxed time this time as some opted to enjoy the beach. But as soon as the models were ready and the reflectors positioned, everyone picked up a camera again and started shooting :D.



We left Tambobong late in the afternoon, as late as we can afford to. Believe me, it was hard saying good bye to such a beautiful place.



On the way back to the main highway in Burgos, we made several stops to shoot rural scenes in the warm glow of the setting sun. It was amazing to see creative juices still flowing after two straight days of shooting.

It was a superb weekend, the interaction was dynamic and we all learned a lot from one another. But the best thing about workshops like this is the strong bond that is formed between each member. We parted ways with a promise what we will have another trip soon (oh if you only only see read facebook threads haha).

This workshop was made possible by The Beachy Life. Check out their amazing collection of swimwear for summer 2010.

Check out Filters Exchange for your photographic needs.  They have high quality filters for travel and outdoor photography needs.

Thanks Kuya Jessie Calaustro for your hospitality.

Thanks Mac for being a boy scout, always willing to whip out his D90 even if the water is chest deep. I'm sure Abby's impressed.

Thanks Shena for the endless supply of liempo. We all gained several pounds after the workshop.

Thank you Mr. Joel (our driver) for leaving some of the participants at the gasoline station in Alaminos. I was really hoping no one has a cellphone in that group. LOL!

Thanks Kuya Buboy for the assistance.

Thank you all for the great fun!

It’s summer in my corner of the world! We have searing temperatures that average above 30 degrees Celsius lately. And with the El Nino phenomenon, it’s going to get hotter in the coming days; time to head to the beaches for a cool dip.

I was lining up a few destinations for the coming weeks when I remembered how I enjoyed our beach hopping day a couple of months ago when I visited Guimaras island with my wife and a couple of friends.

Guimaras is this little gem east of Iloilo. Famous for its mangoes, it also has boundless coastal beauty: an assortment of coves, coastal caves, and beaches - perfect a day of sand, sea, and sun.



One of interesting places we’ve been to was SEAFDEC (Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center). It’s a short boat ride from where we were staying in Igang. One of my friends knows a researcher in SEAFDEC so we were able to get permission to tour their premises.



Established in 1967, SEAFDEC aims to promote sustainable fisheries development in South East Asia. Researchers from across the region come to this place to conduct their studies.



SEAFDEC looked more like a resort with its white cottages and color flags. I later found out they actually rent out some of the cottages (the others are being used by the researches).



Their fish cages contain milk fish, groupers, and pompano (specie of jacks) among others. Walking on the plank along the fish cages took a bit of getting used to as it sways a bit. I don’t mind falling into one of the cages, but I was pretty sure my camera will.



What was great was that we were able to buy a few kilos fish straight from the cages. Another great thing about the SEAFDEC area is its numerous small islets and sand bars, perfect for picnics.



We found one sand bar (just a couple of meters long) with gorgeous mature mangroves providing plenty of shade, surrounded by crystal clear water that beckons for a dip.



You might be interested in viewing other photos I took in Guimaras:

• Villa Igang's inviting charm
• Igang's sunset cave
• Guimaras' colors of dawn 

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