A Glimpse Into @Thegoldenhourgirl's Creative Process and Her Experience With the Lomomatic 110

In this feature, we meet Beatriz Tamarit Carabias aka @thegoldenhourgirl — a Madrid-based photographer who fell in love with analogue photography after discovering her father’s old film camera. Over the years, she’s developed a unique style defined by rich colors, dreamy multiple exposures, and a thoughtful connection to light. Recently, she’s been experimenting with the Lomomatic 110, enjoying its creative flexibility and compact format. From poetic portraits to spontaneous visual stories, Beatriz invites us into her world and shares what keeps her inspired behind the lens.

Hi Beatriz, welcome to Lomography Magazine! Could you tell us a little about yourself and how your journey into analogue photography began?

Hi! I’m turning 29 this year and I’ve been shooting analogue since I was around 19 or 20. I started out as a teenager with a digital camera, mostly for travel photos and taking pictures of my dog on hikes. But I had always been curious about my dad’s Minolta XD5 that I saw around the house as a kid — I remember being fascinated by the clicking sound when I pressed the shutter (even though there wasn’t any film inside). I didn’t think much of it at the time, but when I started studying Fine Arts and Digital Creation, I found myself drawn back to that camera. I bought some film and started experimenting — and from there, there was no going back. I used that Minolta for a long time until, one day, I found a Praktica BX20 that belonged to my grandfather when he lived in Germany, hidden at my paternal grandmother’s house. That’s when I started building a small camera collection… and here I am today!

Your work has a very distinctive aesthetic, with a strong connection to light and color. How would you describe your style, and what inspires you when capturing images?

I think black and white photography is absolutely beautiful — I actually have a few rolls waiting to be used! — but color just has something magical for me. It’s like salt, pepper, spices, and heat in a dish — it elevates everything. And considering the huge variety of color films out there, the possibilities with tones and hues are endless! Some of my images, like the ones from my latest project La Femme Rouge, have a bit of a Lynchian vibe (or so people have told me), and I love that intensity. Color can say so much about a project depending on what you want to express.

I started with street photography — I loved documenting everyday life, weekends, trips… but at the end of 2024, I became obsessed with the idea of creating a project inspired by The Three Graces. I had never done portrait photography before, so I felt a bit lost. It can be difficult to find people willing to model, especially without pay, and coordinating schedules, props, etc., felt overwhelming. But I ended up finding three amazing girls — friends I met through Instagram — for the project Gracia y Reflejos. I bought some fabrics, flower crowns, and skin-toned bodysuits, and we chose El Retiro park in Madrid on a November afternoon, right at golden hour. The light was perfect.

Now ideas come to me randomly — sometimes at 2 AM when I can’t sleep. I start imagining a scene, an object, an atmosphere… Sometimes I get one tiny detail stuck in my head, and everything unfolds from there. Right now, I’m planning a very cool project that’s been a bit tricky to schedule between me and the model. The idea is to create a somewhat dark atmosphere — depending on the weather and time of day — with a yellow raincoat, a forest, and Lomography Metropolis film.

The technique of multiple exposures seems to play an important role in your photography. What led you to experiment with it, and what do you like about the effects it creates?

I first learned to do multiple exposures by modifying my Minolta XD5 and experimenting with compositions — using darker backgrounds, layering lights, and adding background elements. For a while, I put double exposures on hold, but in the summer of 2024, I got a Lomomatic 110 that allows multiple exposures, and I had so much fun using it over the summer. I really wanted a camera that made doing double exposures easier, without needing to modify it constantly.

Around Christmas, I finally got my hands on a Canon EOS 5, which allows double, triple, even quadruple exposures! In February, I took it on a trip and used it for a personal mini-project with my partner about memory and loss — how memories remain after someone is gone. Not long after, I saw the Layers of Love LomoMission and decided to dive in again. For me, multiple exposures add layers of meaning and emotion. They’re often subtle and delicate — at least in my work — and bring this ethereal feeling of memory and presence, even in absence. It’s something really special.

You recently won the Lomomission Layers of Love. Can you tell us more about the story behind that image and what you aimed to convey?

When I saw the Lomomission, I found the theme really interesting — and I was extra motivated by the prize, the Sprocket Rocket, which I had been eyeing for a while! I started thinking about a location and decided to go with my partner to the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid. Honestly, I felt pretty lost at first. When we arrived — and of course, it being February — there weren’t many flowers or blooming trees, and I didn’t have a clear idea of poses or visual elements. My partner asked, “Where do we start?” and I totally blanked. Should I focus on faces? Hands? Eyes? Full-body shots or close-ups? Flowers, branches?

In the end, I just let things unfold naturally. We wandered through the garden, and whenever I found something I liked — a flower, tree bark texture, the giant cacti in the greenhouse — I shot it to use as a background, and then chose which part of the body to include.

Most of the final images were actually triple exposures. One of my favorite shots, with both our faces overlaid on ferns, was my partner’s idea! Getting photos of both of us was a bit of a challenge — he’s 1.90 m tall and I’m 1.60 m — so we had to adjust everything manually and use him as a human tripod!

You mentioned the Lomomatic 110, which you use quite often. What do you enjoy most about this camera, and how does it fit into your creative workflow?

I love how lightweight and easy to use it is. The ability to take multiple exposures (as many as you want!) is such a fun creative bonus. My only struggle is with the focusing distance — I’m not great at measuring, so a lot of my photos with the Lomomatic are out of focus. But I really like that it has an “infinity” mode, which is super useful for landscapes or street photography.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting out in analogue photography, what would it be?

Enjoy the process. Learn, read, get to know your camera. It doesn’t have to be worth €300 — you can start with a compact or even a disposable one. But if you can find a camera that lets you control settings manually, I think the experience is way more enjoyable.

Don’t get frustrated. Sometimes your photos will be overexposed, too dark, or the ISO won’t match, but that’s all part of the learning curve. Let your creativity flow — there are no mistakes, only art.

Finally, is there any new photographic experiment or technique you’d like to try in the future?

I’d really love to get back into instant photography. I think it has something totally unique compared to film. Though to be honest, I’m super happy just going out and shooting my 36 frames! Also, I’m excited to experiment with cyanotype again — I took a workshop last October and I can’t wait to try it at home.

Thank you, Beatriz, for giving us a glimpse into your creative world and for sharing your experience with the Lomomatic 110 and analogue photography! To see more of Beatriz's work please visit her Instagram page and make sure to check out her Lomohome.

written by ainethuici on 2025-05-17 #gear #people #spain #multiple-exposure #lomomatic Share Article