TIPS: 5 Things to Photograph in Iloilo

Iloilo is rich in culture & heritage and there are a lot of things that can be photographed here. With this in mind, I’ve listed 5 things a tourist, visitor or photographer should photograph when in Iloilo:

1. Churches. The province of Iloilo is one of the oldest outside Manila and there are plenty of century-old churches in the area. We have the Jaro Catherdral in Jaro, Sta Ana Church in Molo, San Jose Church in downtown Iloilo and the famous Miag-ao Church. Try to also shoot the interiors and details of the church.

Miag-ao Church, Miag-ao, Iloilo

Carmelite Monastery, Brgy. Sambag, Jaro, Iloilo City

churches-1 Inside Sta. Ana Church, Molo, Iloilo City

San Jose Church, Iloilo City

Inside Jaro Cathedral, Jaro, Iloilo City

Sta. Ana Church, Molo, Iloilo City

2. Houses. Old houses can be found along E. Lopez Street, Jaro. We have the Antillan House, Nelly’s Garden, Jaen Residence and several surrounding the Jaro Plaza. There is also the Angelicum Mansion in Tabuc Suba, Jaro. There are also plenty more in the Distirct of Molo: the Mejica Residence (now a museum), Pison Residence (now a pre-school), Consing Residence to name a few. Several old houses made of hard wood can still be found in Molo and Arevalo District: there are the Villanueva residence (better known as the Sinamay) and the Trespeses residence near the Arevalo public market.

Pison Residence, Molo, Iloilo City

Angelicum Mansion, Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City

Trespeses Residence, Arevalo, Iloilo City

Nelly’s Garden, E. Lopez St., Jaro, Iloilo City

Ledesma Mansion, E. Lopez St., Jaro, Iloilo City

Antillan House, E. Lopez St., Jaro, Iloilo City

3. Buildings and Structures. These can be found along Iznart, JM Basa to Gen Hughes Street at the heart of the City. The old Provincial Capitol is well over 50 years old and is preserved by the Provincial Govt.

Villanueva Building, J.M. Basa Street, Iloilo City

U.P. in the Visayas Main Building, UPV Iloilo City

Old Provincial Capitol, Iloilo City

Inside the New Provincial Capitol, Iloilo City

Lapaz Plaza, Iloilo City

4. Local Industry & Livelihood. There are lots of industry & livelihood in Iloilo that make great subjects. We have Sinamay making and flower industry at Arevalo and the Potmakers in Pavia. There’s also the fishing spots along the coast and inside the Iloilo river and rice farms surrounding Iloilo.

You’ll be able to find rice land just outside Iloilo City. I found this farmer drying his rice harvest along the highway in Pavia.

Fishermen can be found along the Iloilo river. This one shows off his catch…

Sinamay weaver of Arevalo, Iloilo City

Potmakers of Pavia, Iloilo

There are lots of flower gardens in the Arevalo district.

Candlemaker from Pavia, Iloilo… Agaza Candles.

5. Festivals. We have two major festivals in Iloilo City, Dinagyang and Paraw Regatta. Both events are colorful and very photogenic. In recent years, the Chinese New Celebration has also been closely followed by photographers here because of the colorful costumes and dance perfomances.

Paraw Regatta Festival, 3rd weekend of February