We chat to photographer Olga De La Iglesia while the morning sun is hitting the wall behind her in her studio in Spain, showing why so many creatives pick Barcelona as their playground these days.

Q
Can you describe your work in 3 words?
A
Fun, spiritual and real. It’s actually both real and unreal because I play a lot with fantasy as well.

Q
Do you remember the first time picking up a camera?
A
I gravitated towards the arts from a very young age. I’d roam the streets of Catalonia to take pictures of old buildings, churches and cathedrals. My mother is an interior designer so growing up in a house full of floor plans and architecture images made me fall in love with shapes and structures.

My grandmother was a painter, she really showed me how to play with colors. I think those two role models, and both powerful women, really influenced the way I work these days. They didn’t just influence my aesthetic though, but also my love for people.

Q
Is your love for people why you choose to be a photographer?
A
I think so, yes. I went to general art school, because I’ve also loved drawing, painting and crafts. But I do think my interest in people and anthropology really pushed me towards photography. I always like to try to understand how our minds and emotional life work. I think photography is very intimate and pictures sometimes say more than a thousand words.

Photography is very meditative to me. When I’m taking pictures, telling stories, I’m truly present. Taking in all the differences between my world and other cultures, giving me new perspectives and widening my imagination. And every culture uses colour in a different way to express their emotions, feelings and narrative. Although we all see the same color, the way we interpret them is different.