golden hour
2026
Creative Direction: Elena Sohmen
Styling (Stylist): Elena Sohmen and Micky Exposito
Hair: Hugo Trix
Makeup: Hugo Trix
Model(s): Elena Sohmen, Micky Exposito and Carla
Photography Assistants: 1st Assistant: Carl Raabe
2nd Assistants: Fiona Galinsky and Laura Staut
Post-Production / Retouching: Elena Sohmen
golden hour is a photographic series born out of spontaneity. It is part of A CAMERA IS A GUN, a project in which I reflect on the power that a camera holds—an idea inspired by Notes on Photography by Susan Sontag.
The project seeks to exercise that power from a different position: by using public spaces, friendships, and close networks; improvisation, resourcefulness, and personal relationships become essential parts of the creative process.
The images in golden hour emerged from an unexpected situation. The shoot was originally planned to take place with a horse in a stable in the middle of nowhere, but while we were already on our way (me with a golden-painted face and six people with me), the owner cancelled at the last minute. Without a horse and without a plan, I called my friend Carla, an 84-year-old woman born in East Berlin, who has a very peculiar house filled with accumulated objects.
The photographs were taken along the way, across the different places and modes of transport that eventually led us to Carla’s home.
The project seeks to exercise that power from a different position: by using public spaces, friendships, and close networks; improvisation, resourcefulness, and personal relationships become essential parts of the creative process.
The images in golden hour emerged from an unexpected situation. The shoot was originally planned to take place with a horse in a stable in the middle of nowhere, but while we were already on our way (me with a golden-painted face and six people with me), the owner cancelled at the last minute. Without a horse and without a plan, I called my friend Carla, an 84-year-old woman born in East Berlin, who has a very peculiar house filled with accumulated objects.
The photographs were taken along the way, across the different places and modes of transport that eventually led us to Carla’s home.