Old Churches

I've taken a lot of photos during my travels and among my favorite subjects are old churches. However, I've misplaced prints and negatives of older photos taken with my trusty Pentax and Minolta cameras. Most of these older photos may have been lost to typhoon Ondoy and it will take me some time before I can travel to places like Tuguegarao and Vigan though I might have opportunities to shoot Lucban, Tayabas and Cebu soon.

Below are some of the more recent photos I've taken in Iloilo, Bohol and Camarines Sur:

Iloilo province has a treasure trove of old churches including the ones in Miag-ao and Cabatuan. I would like to get newer shots of the churches in Jaro, Molo and Sta. Barbara. These are part of the older photos I took.

Cabatuan, Iloilo (view from the town plaza)

Cabatuan, Iloilo (closer view of main door and tower facade)

Miag-ao, Iloilo (UN World Heritage Site)

Miag-ao, Iloilo (facade)

Bohol is another province with a wealth of culture and I was very impressed with the churches there. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit Dauis (an irony since we stayed in Panglao) and missed time to travel to see the picturesque seaside towns that had, aside from old churches, old lighthouses. Loboc, Albuquerque and Baclayon are among the finest examples of Christian Catholic architecture (is there such a term?) in the Philippines.

Loboc, Bohol (view from plaza)

Loboc, Bohol (perspective)

Albuquerque, Bohol (view from national highway)

Baclayon, Bohol (view from across the highway)

Baclayon, Bohol (main altar)

I went to Naga City, Camarines Sur in early September 2009 to speak before a Civil Engineering student convention for Region 5. I took advantage of my free time by going around the hometown of my father-in-law and familiarizing myself with the city's transportation. A visit to Naga will not be complete if one does not visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Penafrancia.

Naga, Camarines Sur (view from the plaza)

Naga, Camarines Sur (stained glass of dome in the plaza)

The Shrine to Our Lady of Penafrancia is not actually an old church as the one above is a more contemporary structure built to host devotees flocking to the Shrine every year to celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady. The old church is still standing and is actually nearby. Naga City is home to a lot of old churches and I look forward to visiting the city in the near future for more photo opportunities.

I hope to find photos of old churches in Rizal and Laguna including those in Baras, Binangonan, Morong and Paete. Perhaps I will be featuring more of these in succeeding posts.