The work of photographer Daniela López are balm for the soul. Her images invite you to rest, let you immerse yourself in other people’ moments and to dive into the small beauties of life.

We fell in love with your work. They are so incredibly dreamy, nostalgic and authentic. When is an image good enough for you personally?

I’ve always felt emotions in a very strong way and when I started using a camera I realized that I could capture what I was feeling through images, it was as if I could stop time and bring back that emotion. Just as you can like a song because it gives you an emotion, I think the same thing happens to me with photography – When I see an image that makes me feel something, I know it’s a successful one.

One of your most popular images is this one, and I can see why. It shows friendship in old age, and at the same time that the two women still like to dress up. This is a picture that tells so many stories. What is your story about this picture?

The story behind this picture begins with my mom. For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a great sense of style, something I’ve always admired about her.

When I visited Milano for the first time I became obsessed with the elegant ladies that walked on the streets, and somehow they made me feel close to home because they remind me of my mother and how much I would like to be with her in Italy. I started taking photos of people on the street and this specific image was one of the most special ones for me.

“I really believe that photography brings people closer.”

We live in a time of individualization. This is very much due to the media, advertising and also the so-called social media. How can we reverse this trend in order to bring society back together and move from the Me back to a more honest We?

It has been two very strange years for everyone and I think it’s been a time to look inside each one.

Personally, I felt the urge to be more introspective lately in order to heal many wounds that these difficult times have brought me. I think that in that sense, it has helped me to go through stages of individualization and introspection to get to know myself more and more. The truth is that I’m not sure how to reverse this trend so that society feels more united again, but I do believe that it is essential that each one has this inner search/growth to be able to give the best of themselves in society.

To what extent do you think that photography can also contribute to this? Because art can and may also have the goal to provoke thinking?

I really believe that photography brings people closer. Photography allows us to imagine infinite stories of moments that we may not even remember and sometimes they are the only memories we have left of someone we lost.

I see photography as a way to believe in the human being again after difficult times, to capture the sensitivity that makes us human and the magical charm of ordinary life.

“Moving from place to place in the last few years has given me a need to find a place where I feel at home.”

Your pictures give me some beautiful thoughts. I appreciate it when people can see things through their eyes like that. The beauty in the simplicity of a shadow for example. Or a person. A moment. Do you always have your camera with you? If so, which one?

Thank you!! Whenever I have time to have a slower day, I take the camera with me. I enjoy going for walks and listening to music and taking pictures, either with the camera or with the phone. Lately, I use an analog camera (Minolta 7000) that I bought recently and although I can’t take the same quantity of photos as with a digital one, it makes it more intimate since I prefer to wait for a special moment to take the picture.

Is there a picture that has a special meaning for you over many years?

I lost my brother two years ago, so I think the photos that I have taken with the most value to me are his and the ones he took.

You have a label for accessories, and you travel around the world. What are the things that you still want to do in your life?

I really enjoy traveling and am very grateful for having the opportunity to do it, this has opened my mind and allowed me to explore a creative side that I always felt I had.

I have many plans and I’m always daydreaming – but moving from place to place in the last few years has given me a need to find a place where I feel at home, which I have not yet felt in any place apart from my motherland. So, one wish I really have right now is to find a space where I feel at home, regardless of where it is.

www.instagram.com/danielalopezp