S'AGARO ON FILM: A PROPOSAL AT HOSTAL DE LA GAVINA, COSTA BRAVA

There is a stretch of the Costa Brava where the coast seems to slow down. About an hour and a half north of Barcelona, between the coves of Sant Pol and Sa Conca, S'Agaró sits on a small headland of pine trees and pale stone. At its edge, almost in the sea, stands Hostal de La Gavina.
 
I came here with Brooklynn and Ethan, a bag full of medium format film and a Super 8 camera, for an evening they would remember for the rest of their lives. This is the story of that evening, and of why I think this corner of Catalonia is one of the most beautiful places on the whole coast to photograph on film.

La Gavina is one of those hotels where you walk in and slow down straight away. Old wood, arches, tiled floors, and the sea right behind the terrace. It opened in 1932, and in the 50s this was where Hollywood stayed on the Costa Brava — Ava Gardner filmed Pandora here. You still feel it. Honestly, it's hard to take a modern-looking photo in this place, and I didn't want to.
 
That's why I shoot it on film. Kodak Portra loves this kind of light — low, warm, coming off the water in the late afternoon. It keeps skin soft, shadows warm, and the colours exactly as I remember them that evening. When the scans came back, Brooklynn and Ethan's photos looked like stills from an old movie. That was the whole idea: bold, elegant, a little bit 1950s. Not a beach shoot.
 
Film also slows me down, in a good way. A roll of medium format film has only ten or fifteen frames. I can't shoot a hundred photos and choose later, so I watch and I wait. With a proposal — a few seconds, no second take — that's exactly how I want to work.
 

We started at the hotel. Brooklynn got ready in the afternoon, and then we went out into the grounds and the gardens: stone paths, big umbrella pines, the sea between the branches. The light under the pines changes every few steps, and film handles it so well. The shadows stay soft, and the spots of sun turn golden, never harsh.
 
I didn't pose them much. A little direction — stop here, turn to the light — and then I let them walk and just be together. I love the photos from before a proposal. There's a little excitement in them, even if only one person knows why.
 

When the sun started to go down, we left the gardens and walked to the gazebo above the sea. The whole evening was planned around this moment. Ethan went down on one knee, Brooklynn said yes, and the bay behind them was completely gold.
 
I stayed far enough away to give them the moment, and close enough to see her face. One chance, a few frames. When the scans came back, it looked exactly the way it felt.

Then back to La Gavina, to the terrace, for a cin cin while the light faded over the water. Their first toast as an engaged couple — the perfect ending for an evening like this.

I also filmed the evening on Super 8. No sound, no drone, no slow motion — just real film in a little vintage camera, with all the grain and warmth. It looks like something you'd find in your grandparents' box of home movies. And I think it's the most beautiful way to tell everyone you're engaged.

Getting there. About an hour and a half by car from Barcelona, less from Girona airport. I drive up from Barcelona for every session here.

Walk the Camí de Ronda. The old coastal path between the coves of Sant Pol and Sa Conca passes right by the hotel. Go in the morning, before it gets busy.

Plan around sunset. In winter the sun goes down around 5:30pm, in summer after 9pm. We plan everything else around that.
Best season for film. Autumn and winter for low, warm light and quiet paths. Spring if you want the gardens in bloom.

Stay the night or book dinner. Then nobody is rushing, and I can help you arrange access to the gardens with the hotel.

What to wear. Think the Riviera in the 50s: tailoring, silk, linen, a strong colour or soft ivory. And comfortable shoes for the stone paths.

Want a second location? Marimurtra in Blanes and Santa Clotilde in Lloret de Mar are both within an hour.
 

Proposals on the coast are part of my Experience collection (€1,400). I scout the location in person before the day, photograph the moment on medium format film, and then we have two hours of portraits together. You receive 100+ fine art film images. Super 8 can be added to any collection.
 
Winter and Valentine's dates are open — and December always goes first.
 

Photographed on medium format film and Super 8. Developed and scanned at Carmencita Lab, Valencia.