Flower shopping season - Philippines best season for flower photographer is NOW. The week before All Saints Day is the season with greatest flower supply from Baguio

Philippines best season for flower photography

The week preceding All Saints day, Baguio is virtually flooded with hundred thousands of freshest flowers on the market. A special market es setup just for the ween preceding All Saints' Day.

All Saints' Day is a huge flower business week in the Philippines. Spending money for bones, instead of giving flowers to the ones still on earth nest to us all.

Gerbera

As a result of this known date, flower farms prepare well in advance huge quantities of all kinds of local flowers precisely for the week preceeding All Saints' Day, huge = hundred thousands of flowers daily. Flowers in all shades, varieties, colors, sizes. Flower of heavenly beauty. Daisies, purple orchids and white orchids, chrysanthemums, stargazer, carnation, and countless other tropical and subtropical flowers of finest quality. Of course my preferred roses. Roses are sold in smallest bundles of 2 dozen per bundle - typically 1 color per bundle and in a variety of standard sizes. Rose-sizes are named just like T-shirts: Medium, large, XL, XXL. Depending on stem length and blossom size. Usually XXL roses are reserved for Manila and export. Hence the top quality and of course top price range never appears on Baguio's flower market. Even during All Saints' Day or during the world famous annual Baguio flower festival in February.

Colorful roses XL size - Baguio City

To find XL roses is quiet difficult in Baguio, but yesterday I was most lucky and got a huge quantity of most beautiful XL roses and a beautiful variety of exotic flowers. Normally for flower photography XL roses are just fine in size and length. Today I was a few minutes late for roses and got only 4 bundles, hence some 96 roses. Not yet enough for my tomorrows flower photography session. Hence I have to get some more and hope for additional deliveries during the day or coming night.

The freshest flowers - directly from supplier - at 3 AM

This night I decided to go shopping flowers instead of working all night. Hence around 2 AM I left for the mobile flower market on the road along the Baguio's City Market. Dozens of trucks, vans and Jeepneys stop and sell directly from the truck or on the street. Hundred thousands of freshest flowers. A paradise for flower lovers and flower photographers!

Best time for flower shopping of course is very early morning. If you want some of the most beautiful flowers Baguio and its neighboring flower regions have to offer, then 2AM to 3AM is just fine. Later definitely is too late. Trucks come and unload or sell off the truck or van. Flower merchants buy by the box or load or at the very least by large bundles.

This street flower wholesale market is just outside the regular flower wholesale market behind the rice market. If you are minutes too later, then the wholesellers got the best pick and you get the rest!

Pink stargazer

Best season for flower photographers in Baguio - Philippines

Of course you find flowers and roses all year long. During rainy season it is far more difficult and sometimes the prices higher and quality lower due to rain damage of some blossoms. But by far the very largest selection of cut flowers for flower arrangements or flower bouquet photography is NOW - the week before All Saints' Day in Baguio.

Still rainy season but nearing the end. Typical day is sunshine or partially hazy - diffuse light - sunshine from 7 AM till 10:30 AM and then covering more and more with clouds. Quiet often around noon or soon later we have rain - sometimes all afternoon. Hence the best flower photography time is early morning hours. I prefer the light conditions from 8:30AM to 10:30AM.

If you are a flower photographer

If you are a flower photographer and in the Philippines these days - hurry and enjoy the abundance of fresh flowers. There may be seldom another occasion to find as many different fresh cut flowers as now these days before All Saints' Day. Else plan your next year photo session timely.

Yesterday I had may be my most lucky day purchasing roses and flowers, plus I had the advantage of enjoying the help of 3 flower girls as my flower photo assistants. If you are now curious or wondering how much a half day flower photography session including all, i.e. abundance of finest colorful flowers and roses plus the photo assistants may cost you - yesterday my morning session was just about 100 US$. If you look what such a flower photo session in Europe or USA would cost, then it is a real bargain here in the Philippines.

Love and Bliss

hans