The Kiss by Bella Kotak
As a fledgling creator, I didn’t start taking myself seriously until 2014 when I created a picture of a sleeping nymph surrounded by flowers. That picture, for me, was a step into something new, something special, a world where I controlled the content, where I could explore my love of spring, of femininity, of fairytales, of flowers, of enchantment. It’s what most of my followers know me for and it’s a world I’ve escaped into over and over again, at first to distract myself from a career that wasn’t my calling, and later to experience and immerse myself in the wonders of the natural world and collaborate with artists whom I admire and who are as passionate about their craft as I am mine.
For a recent picture, I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone once more, to push myself to create something that captured and symbolised this moment in my life as well as reconnect to the magic that I felt in that little shoot back in 2014. As a new romantic love blossomed in my own personal life, I found myself growing as a person, as a girlfriend, as a business partner, as a best friend, and as of this year, a fiancee.
The Kiss, 2018, from the series, In Bloom.
Up until now, all my pictures featured solo feminine characters blossoming into their own, from sleeping nymphs to warrior queens. The growth of the characters quietly mirror my internal evolution into womanhood while at the same time drawing us into their world. It was time to add another dynamic.
Photography: www.bellakotakphotography.com
Models: @mariaamanda_official & @jeremymoineau
Retouching: myself and @solsticeretouch
Dress and headpiece: @agnieszkaosipa
Assisting: @solsticeretouch and Scarlett
See more of Bella Kotak's BTS at this link.