10 Days In Portugal on Kodak Gold | 35mm Photo Essay

The last time I visited Portugal, I was younger than 10 and traveling with my mom, dad, and sister. Mom is from here — a small village called Vale de Vargo, located within Serpa. I remember my grandmother making stew in the middle of her home and the sticky heat rising up from the dirt roads, but not much else.

Since then, my sister and I have talked about returning to Portugal for years as adults. We’re both in our 30s, and it felt like the right time. We didn’t return to the village itself (for that, we’ll go back together with our mom), but we did go to Lisbon and Cascais for a different side of the Portugal we’ve known.

Walk with me through this snapshot from August of 2025: high summer in the city, heat rising off the cobblestoned streets and the scent of fresh pasteis de nata hanging heavy in the air…

When we arrived in Lisbon, I was burnt out, creatively drained, having trouble finding the right perspectives or colors that I usually look for when I’m out shooting. It was to the point where I’d bypass a scene, a moment, a glimmer of light that would have ordinarily caught my eye simply because I didn’t have the attention span to focus on it.

This city changed that almost immediately. A magnificent, seven-layer-cake of a place. It remind me so much of San Francisco, and not just because they share a large bridge as a defining feature; it felt hilly, colorful, endless, like every corner you looked around might lead you somewhere new, even on the most well-trodden paths.

Everything about Lisbon felt deeply romantic. Some things that charmed me continuously: Couples with their legs casually sprawled across each other’s laps in the afternoon sun. Open windows, everywhere. Empty wine glasses and espresso cups. Melting ice cream cones - is there a more sure sign of summer?

By our fourth day, I’d already shot through all of the rolls of film I’d brought and had to re-up.

From Lisbon, we took a short car ride out to Cascais, a beach town with a slower pace of life. We spent three days lying in the sand, reading and drowsily going for swims when the mood struck. I personally ate the same lunch every day, and to this day still think about it: perfectly spiced shrimp with warm bread and ice cold sangria.

We stayed at The Pergola, a beautiful little boutique hotel strewn with bougainvillea and painted in all the bright pastel tones you could ask of a single place. The surrounding town was walkable and hilly (similar to Lisbon), with narrow alleyways and colorful old buildings that looked well-cared-for.

I didn’t want to leave. I idly wondered if I’d ever come back, not because I wouldn’t prioritize it but because life happens. Sometimes you see things only once, and they’re frozen like that forever, in your memory.

In total, I shot 14 rolls of film, the most I’ve ever burned through on any trip I’ve been on. All on Kodak Gold 200, all on my Contax G2. I’ve been sitting on this work for about 6 months since returning from the trip, and I’m only just now sharing it all, so thanks for reading.