METRO MANILA | San Sebastian Basilica Revisited

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I have photographed the iron giant of Manila, the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian twice before. On both occasions, I was attending a wedding and I wasn’t really able to shoot to my heart’s content in deference to the ongoing ceremony.

With this year’s Scott Kelby Photowalk, one of the three itineraries is the San Sebastian church, and I was more than happy to reenter the towering pastel-green gothic structure again.
I have described in detail the history of this amazing church, one of the shortlisted UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country, so I won’t go into details about it anymore (click here for my previous post about San Sebastian).

My main focus on shooting the Basilica for the third time was to get angles I was unable to do before as the whole church was opened that morning specifically just for us photographers.
I would have liked to say that I went there with cameras blazing all over the place, but not really.

I’m really not the type of shooter who clicks nonstop just because I still have gigabytes and gigabytes of space left on my SD card. I’d like to think that I choose my angles before clicking that shutter (which sometimes leads to frustrating moments when I’m already at the front of my computer, editing may photos and wishing I shot some frames of such and such but was too picky in tripping the shutter.)
So there I was, checking the place out while my fellow photographers were crawling all over the church floors, craning their necks up high and getting their shots. And I can’t blame them, with the beauty of this church, it’s really quite hard to stop your fingers from clicking your camera’s shutter button every second of every minute.
And after everyone got their photos and the floor was almost clear, I started exploring and found the angles that was lost to me on my previous visits. It was at last time for my reshoot of Manila’s Gothic legacy.

Parish of San Sebastian
Plaza del Carmen
Quiapo, Manila
(02) 734-8931 ‎

You Might Also Like

17 comments

  1. your pics never failed to amaze me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. di pa ako nakakapasok sa simbahan na to,ang ganda pala. series ba ito ng mga places of worship? ang ganda ng photowalk nyo

    ReplyDelete
  3. still you got awesome shots!
    amazing lang! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with Batang Lakwatsero
    The last picture is perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  5. parang itinaas mo din ang leeg ko sir Christian sa last pic, first time to see this kind of shot!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Superb photos! Para na rin ako muling nakabisita sa San Sebastian Church nang makita ko yung mga retrato sa post na to. The last photo captured the massiveness of the interior! May God bless you more Sir Christian!

    ReplyDelete
  7. the last pic is just awesome... great angle! hope we could visit the Basilica too

    ReplyDelete
  8. ya never fail to impress me with your great pix. My stay on this site is like a great travel experience at the comfort of my room. More power!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gorgeous set :-) try to visit betis church in pampanga if you can, you'll love the place. Please continue to inspire us :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. What can I say? One of my fave churches here in Manila because, for me, it has this Harry Potter feel. :))

    ReplyDelete
  11. sir cAN i borrow ur photos?for school purposes lng..pleaseee....tnx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wifey and I were married here 11 years ago. good times!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lestat, Batang Lakwatsero, Joniphilippines, Wandering Caloy, MarLiesTravels
    Thanks! I think yan talaga keeper ko sa shoot na yan

    Marxtermind, Simurgh, Rome
    Thanks!

    Supertikoy
    You should check it out sometime pre, iba talaga ganda ng San Sebastian, parang kang nasa Europe hehe

    Cacho
    Hanapin ko yang Betis church pag nagawi ako ng Pampanga bro

    Elal
    Haha Harry Potter talaga? :P

    Lara
    Please email me privately po :)

    Jayvee
    Wow nice! It must be something to get married there

    ReplyDelete
  14. this is such a very beautiful church...visiting from Going places!

    feel free to visit my travel blogs..
    Travel Euroasia
    Europe Travel Pad
    See The World
    Countryside Trip

    ReplyDelete
  15. Redruby
    I know from your Eu travels that it may not seem much, but it's still a beauty right? :)

    ReplyDelete