Devotion in Photographs: Shooting One of the Largest Religious Events in the World

Devotion is an idea difficult to capture in photographs. In this interview, photojournalist Jilson Tiu from the Philippines shares his experience photographing a religious tradition practiced by a massive number of devoted believers.

The feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila, Philippines is one of the biggest annual religious events in the world, called the "Traslacion." Brought into the archipelago by Galleon ships from Acapulco, Mexico in the year 1606, this image of Christ, carved from dark painted wood by an anonymous Mexican sculptor, is believed by its millions of devotees to be miraculous.

The Annual Tradition

Every year, on the 9th of January, the wooden statue housed in the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene leaves the church for a 16-to-20-hour parade around the city of Manila. The route is not really that long on its own; however, the procession extends that long due to the millions of devotees that flood the streets to see it or even touch it. The statue that depicts the passion of Christ carrying the cross before his crucifixion is believed by these devotees to be miraculous. The believers of this tradition come every year to join the image in the procession, to symbolically be one with Christ in that suffering.

The photos in this article come to you from freelance photojournalist Jilson Tiu. These photos depict not only the devotion of the people who embark on this yearly tradition. Embedded in these photos are the stories of how people young and old, coming from diverse demographic backgrounds, risk both life and limb to signify their faith.

Two Sides of the Stories of Devotion

In almost every year that this tradition is practiced, there is news about people suffering from physical injuries or even death from being pushed, shoved, or even trampled on by the sea of people that walk with the religious icon. Even more, it’s a regular occurrence that people end up in brawls with other devotees and law enforcement in the struggle to get close to the miraculous image and even wipe religious articles on its surface. For this year’s procession, Tiu relays that much of the conflict happened because of the changes in the procession route. In efforts to decongest and hasten the flow of the procession, changes were made that lead to conflicts between the police and devotees trying to pass through blocked off roads.

As a street photographer known best for his brilliant illustrations of everyday life in Manila, he hopes through this photo set that he may shed some light onto both the admirable devotion shown by the people in his photos, as well as the consequences of disorderly practice of this tradition. People getting hurt, unnecessary conflict, and a long trail of trash left behind by the devotees are actually quite negotiable.

Shooting the Traslacion

Tiu’s photos were taken with a Canon EOS RP camera with a 70-200mm and a 16-35mm lens. He relays that photographing events like this requires a lot of stamina and patience. It’s one thing to be able to walk the nearly four-mile route while squeezing yourself through the crowd, and it’s another to keep the composure to still be able to shoot with artistic vision. It pays to plan and find your vantage point early (which is an understatement since many devotees start to fill the streets the night before) and bring minimal yet capable gear. Carrying sets of lenses and multiple bodies while walking tens of thousands of steps within the procession can take its toll on your creative process.

Photos shared with permission from the photographer.