Sitting Down With

Carla Step

Words By

Whether a song, a place or even a fellow artist, inspiration can be found everywhere and take any shape. In volume 2 of What’s Inspiring Us, photographer Carla Step shares everything fuelling her creative process lately.

1. An object

My new bike. I acquired an 80s road bike and now she takes me everywhere in my city, Barcelona.

2. A place

I feel very inspired by Llançà, the beach town located in Costa Brava where I spent all of August. It has awesome natural beaches with crystal clear water. My boyfriend has a house there and it is a pleasure to be able to go from time to time to get clear.

3. A podcast

As a Spanish speaker, I listen to podcasts from Spain. Right now, I’m very addicted to ‘El Sentido De La Birra’. It’s a podcast that interviews mostly artists and humorists, and I feel very inspired by hearing about their lives and what they have to say.

4. A product

My Urth Tech Organiser. It’s my must-have this year. I mean, I don’t understand how I lived without it. I always carry a lot of different cables, adapters, chargers and other things, and it’s really nice to be able to have it all organised.

5. A project

This summer, I discovered a little beach town in the South of France where there are 1,300 wooden chalets built on stilts and I fell in love. I only spent a few hours there and I managed to shoot a few pictures, but I plan to return there in the winter and develop a photography series about this amazing place.

6. A tool

This year I couldn’t read as many books as I’d like and I felt a bit frustrated. I thought that maybe if I bought an ebook it could help me to always have a book in my backpack and increase my readings. Definitely, it is the best thing I did this year. Since I bought my Kobo Libra H2O, I read one book per week, which is awesome. Now I can’t stop reading haha!

7. A book

This summer, I went to Les Rencontres d’Arles, a summer photography festival in the South of France where you can see a wide variety of exhibitions throughout the city. My favourite one was The New Black Vanguard, an exhibition that presents emerging photographers who fuse the genres of art and fashion. I couldn’t leave without buying the book that compiles the works presented in this exhibition. It has undoubtedly become one of my favourite books.

8. An artist

Brittany Bathgate is, no doubt, my favourite influencer from Instagram & Youtube. I’ve always considered fashion to be an artistic expression and I feel very connected to her aesthetic. I always go to check what she is posting to get inspired.

9. A movie

Recently, I discovered ‘Captain Fantastic’, a movie that centres on a family forced by circumstances to reintegrate into society after living in isolation for a decade. I found it has a very profound political message and the landscapes that appear are absolutely stunning.

10. A song

I’m obsessed with Finneas music and video clips. If my life had a soundtrack, it would probably be a Finneas song. My favourite is ‘I lost a friend’. Go check out their video clips because all of them are awesome. Special mention: go check the work of Sam Bennet too. He is Finneas’ director and his work is impressive.