1946, is a Spanish photographer. Born in Madrid to a German mother, he spent his childhood in the Philippines, the United States, Germany, and Spain. He studied law and business administration in Madrid, Hamburg, and Munich before deciding in 1969 to become a photographer. After several years in London, where he exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1974, he moved permanently to Spain in 1980.

He initially worked in black and white, publishing photographs in magazines such as Creative Camera, Aperture, and DU, as well as Spanish newspapers including El País. In 1985 he abandoned black-and-white photography and began working exclusively in color, developing the visual language for which he became best known. His photographs often explore Spanish cultural traditions, religious rituals, festivals, and everyday life, combining documentary observation with a highly personal approach to color, form, and visual rhythm.

Photobooks have been central to his practice. Major publications include Vanitas (1998), An Imaginary Spaniard (2004), Autobiography (2007), and España Color 1985–2020 (2021). Through these books, he constructed an idiosyncratic photographic portrait of Spain that moves between documentary description and visual invention. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Museo Reina Sofía.

In 2022 he received the Spanish National Photography Prize, recognizing a body of work that has played a significant role in contemporary Spanish photography and in the evolution of color documentary photography.

Reference
Steidl, official website.
https://steidl.de/Artists/Cristobal-Hara-0213323854.html