THE JOURNEY

JANUARY 11 - ARRIVAL & DOWNTOWN CEBU

Arrival, check-in and introduction to Cebu.

In the afternoon we'll head into the streets for our first photography session around Colon Street, Carbon Market, the Basilica del Santo Niño and downtown Cebu.

This first walk is about getting oriented and beginning to understand the rhythm of the city before Sinulog reaches its peak.

We'll continue photographing into the evening.

JANUARY 12 - CARBON MARKET & DOWNTOWN CEBU

We start early at Carbon Market, photographing the market as the city wakes up.

The morning will be dedicated to vendors, workers, customers and the surrounding downtown streets.

After a midday break, we'll return in the late afternoon and evening, concentrating on the Basilica and nearby neighborhoods.

JANUARY 13 - CEBU STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Another morning in downtown Cebu and around the Basilica, giving us the opportunity to revisit locations and start working beyond first impressions.

During the afternoon and evening we'll move toward Osmeña Boulevard and Fuente Osmeña, exploring a different side of the city as Sinulog activity becomes increasingly visible.

By this point, we'll also begin looking at the photographs we've made and identifying subjects or ideas worth pursuing during the rest of the week.

JANUARY 14 - THE BUILD-UP

From here, the workshop becomes increasingly flexible.

We'll follow the growing Sinulog atmosphere and react to what is happening in the streets.

Possible subjects include preparations, rehearsals, performers, costumes, street vendors, pilgrims and religious activity around the Basilica and festival areas.

Rather than forcing a predetermined route, we'll go where the photographs are.

The exact schedule will be finalized once the official 2027 Sinulog program has been released.

JANUARY 15 - PRE-SINULOG CEBU

By Friday, the atmosphere should be very different from the Cebu we photographed at the beginning of the week.

We'll spend the day between the Basilica, downtown streets and the main festival areas as the city prepares for Sinulog weekend.

Crowds grow. Religious events intensify. Performers arrive. Streets change.

Our goal is to photograph that transition - and the quieter human moments happening inside it.

JANUARY 16 - VISPERAS & PROCESSIONS

One of the most important photography days of the journey.

Saturday traditionally brings some of the major religious events surrounding the Santo Niño.

We expect to begin very early for the Fluvial Procession, followed later in the day by the Solemn Foot Processionthrough Cebu.

This is a very different photographic experience from the Grand Parade.

Rather than costumes and performance, the emphasis shifts toward faith, devotion and the extraordinary scale of the crowds participating in the processions.

We'll photograph pilgrims, families, religious symbols, gestures, moments of prayer and the street life surrounding the events.

It will be a long and intense day - and potentially one of the strongest opportunities of the entire week for meaningful documentary street photography.

JANUARY 17 - SINULOG GRAND PARADE

The main festival day - and the finale of our journey.

We start early.

Long before the parade reaches full intensity, we'll look for the moments behind the spectacle: performers arriving, costumes being prepared, musicians waiting, rehearsals beginning and spectators finding their places.

These quieter moments before the event can produce some of the day's most interesting photographs.

As the streets fill, we'll move into the energy of the Sinulog Grand Parade and surrounding celebrations.

Instead of trying to photograph everything, we'll concentrate on finding order inside the chaos and creating photographs that go beyond straightforward festival documentation.

We'll continue into the evening depending on the final program and activity in the streets, bringing our seven-day photography journey to a close at the height of Sinulog.