Argentina Photo Essay by Juan Cruz Olivieri

Today, we’re featuring a beautiful photo essay from film photographer Juan Cruz Olivieri. Scroll below to see the images and read more from Juan Cruz about photographing Argentina with Lomography Turquoise film…

Analog cameras and films used: Minolta XD-5 (Find on eBay) | Lomography Turquoise (Find on Amazon)

Connect with Juan Cruz: Instagram

A Turquoise Trip to the Province of Catamarca, Argentina

By Juan Cruz Olivieri

Argentina is a vast country. You can tell just by looking at a map, but it’s still shocking to realize that Germany would fit almost eight times inside Argentina’s territory, or Italy almost nine times. In fact, Argentina is the 8th largest country in the world, yet its population is similar to that of Spain or South Korea.

Within this sparsely populated immensity, geography seems to have the freedom to shine, offering an ample array of landscapes. From the snow-covered mountain tops and glaciers of Patagonia, to the almost endless plains of the Pampas, or the largest waterfall system in the world, Iguazú Falls in Misiones, Argentina seems to have it all.

With such an abundance of unique landscapes, it’s easy for some truly spectacular scenery to be overlooked. And that’s exactly the case of Catamarca.

Part of the country’s Northwest Region, Catamarca is one of the least populated provinces in Argentina, with just 430,000 people spread across a territory larger than Hungary or South Korea. About 70% of its surface is mountainous terrain, which makes traveling from one point to another slow and often tedious—although the roads are in good condition. As a result, tourism isn’t developed the way it should be, and both a local guide and a 4×4 SUV are required to reach the province’s best spots.

Gear and Roll Choice

I had never shot Lomo Turquoise (or any other Lomo experimental film) before, but I had read quite a bit about it, including a great article published on this site, which proved extremely useful. Based on what I learned, I felt the Catamarquean landscape was perfect for this roll: the intense, crystal-clear blue sky, the surreal scenery, the vast open spaces.

So my lineup consisted of my good old Minolta XD-5 equipped with an MD Zoom 28–70mm and an MD Rokkor 50mm loaded with Lomo Turquoise, plus my brand-new Pentax 17 loaded with Kodak Gold 200. The plan was to cover the regular shooting with my Pentax 17 and whenever I found a special scene suitable for the Lomo Turquoise, fire up my Minolta, and that’s how it went.

The Landscape

So what made me drive more than 1,000 km from Buenos Aires and then book some pretty exhausting day-long 4×4 tours?

• A pumice field stretching as far as the eye can see, filled with rocks sculpted by millions of years of fierce winds: an immobile ocean frozen in stone.
• A mirrored lake at the foot of a snow-capped mountain, reflecting the with impossible clarity.
• Sweeping sand dunes perfect for sandboarding.
• Mountain ranges painted in natural colors — reds, greens, yellows, and purples formed by centuries of mineral history.
• Colonial architecture built mainly with adobe — a traditional technique using earth, straw, and sun-dried bricks

The Results

Overall, I was thrilled with the results. The Lomo Turquoise roll gave the images an out-of-this-world look that fits perfectly with these kinds of landscapes.

I learned that the film truly shines when there’s a good range of colors in the scene; in places with limited chromatic variety, the results were less striking. I’d also say it’s essential to have a clear, bright blue sky—the way it shifts into that deep orange with this film is incredible, and it’s really the foundation of the unique aesthetic that Lomo Turquoise can create.

Conclusion

I’m not an “off-the-beaten-path” fundamentalist—if a path is beaten, there’s usually a good reason for it. But Catamarca is the kind of place that proves how much beauty remains hidden simply because it’s remote, quiet, or inconvenient to reach.

If you’re willing to slow down, cover long distances, and let the landscape shine on its own terms, Catamarca will reward you with some of the most unforgettable scenery in Argentina. In a way, I felt that visiting Catamarca required the same mindset we film shooters share: take it slow, embrace the limitations, trust the process, and be open to be surprised.

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