Looking at Nika De Carlo‘s shots is almost like scrolling through frames of a movie. The cinematic style, the strong colours and the texture of the film are perfectly suited to her subjects and to what she wants to tell them.

Born in 1993, Nika De Carlo is an American photographer from Los Angeles who now lives and works in New York. The story between her and photography has been a turbulent one, a story of loss and salvation.

Nika took up photography when her father discovered he was seriously ill: shooting others and herself had become a refuge from reality. It was after this experience that she decided to continue her studies, enrolling at the Pratt Institute in New York.

During her training she developed a well-defined style, adopting the analogue medium format and putting her life, relationships and friendships at the centre of her artistic research, turning her shots into a sort of diary.

So we keep Nika De Carlo company during her travels, during moments shared with friends, but also during the most difficult times. Her latest ongoing series ‘See You In Heaven’ documents her and her partner’s battle with heroin addiction.

“I chose to photograph ourselves together as an attempt to cope, to better understand the heart of the disease, and most importantly, to realize the power it had on us. Through photographing myself and my partner repetitively, I created a visual diary that traced the shifts of our intimacy and distance, which seemingly paralleled with our relapses and attempts at recovery.“

Check out all of Nika De Carlo’s work on Instagram and on her website.