Print Giveaway

Hi guys!

So as promised, here are the details of how to enter the giveaway!

I'll be giving you all the opportunity to win, not 1, not 2 but 3 prints of your choice (A4 size) and 2 books (Embarrassing youtube video - here)

So there are several ways that you can enter.

Facebook

1. Be a follower of my page

2. Comment on this post. ONCE only please. This will count as one entry.

Bonus! If you share this post it will count as another entry!

Twitter

 Follow me and tweet this phrase "Entering Bella's photo giveaway at www.facebook.com/bellakotakphotography #bellakotak"

Tumblr

Simply like/reblog this post

I will be closing this in one week and will draw the names on Sunday the 5th of February.

As this is my first time holding something like this I will also be doing a bonus draw and give 5 more people who enter a chance to win a print (also A4) of their choice!

Ok so there you have it. 4 ways to enter and 6 winners!

Thank you all and Good Luck!! :)

Bella

Thank you!

I hit over 1000 followers on my facebook page earlier today and to say that I am happy would be an understatement. It always humbles me when people deem my work worthy of a follow, leave me positive comments and go to the extra effort to send me an email or message. You're the reason I have the courage to put myself out there. (Haha cheesy I know but it's true!)

I take pictures because I love it. I don't remember a time when I haven't taken photos. From using my dad's old film Kodak to saving up and purchasing my first dSLR, I've constantly been fascinated. I used to paint on canvas and now I paint in my photos immersing myself and my subjects in a world of emotion and colour. It's personal and there's always a feeling of excitement plus a little scary when I upload a new picture. But somehow it's always ok in the end.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is THANK YOU to all of you guys whoever and wherever you are, for supporting me. If I could photograph every single one of you I would! It would be my pleasure.

To repay your support I'll be outlining a big print giveaway tomorrow. To be eligible for a chance to win any of the prices you'll have to be a follower on my page - here

Until then, thank you and goodnight! 

B

an autumn meet up..

in the dark she waits..

The lovely Sevgi is the model for this photo. This image was taken in October last year. God that seems a long time ago. I came across it whilst going through my albums and couldn't believe that I hadn't put it together. Doesn't she look ethereal. While I was at it I realised that I never shared the meet up we had in Hampstead Heath that day so long ago. So here it is!

I remember it was an unseasonably warm afternoon when I joined Sarah, Nizaad and Sevgi in London for a woodland ramble. We'd all met earlier in the summer when the girls visited Brighton so this time it was like meeting old friends again. We wandered deep into the woods on a ground covered with all the hues of orange until we came across this secluded and magical spot. 

I didn't have any idea what type of image I wanted to make. All I had were the few pieces I'd brought with me and the use of everyone else's props and ideas.

As you can see we take photography so very seriously(!) 

 :)

In any case here are a few images I caught during that afternoon. 

The great thing about these meetups is that all 4 of us take self portraits so already we have that awareness of being both in front of and behind the camera . We're happy to share what we know and help each other to take better pictures, like suggesting different compositions and convincing Sev to climb that tree because the light was very pretty..

I've put links at the bottom, check out the images that the girls have uploaded from this meetup both on flickr and facebook.

Sarah in a tree and Niz photographing a submerged Sev..

Sev and Sarah

Here are 3 other self portraits I took that day with the girls.. 

 fortune's fool

 fabric..

fall..

And finally.. group shot! :)

Flickr links! 

Sarah

Sevgi

Nizaad

<3

dark whispers..

I’m back from my week’s break in Frankfurt. It was wonderful and exactly what I needed. I’ll update more thoroughly on that later.

Lately I’ve found myself becoming completely fascinated by strange shapes discovered in geometry. I’ve begun applying what was initially a playful experimentation into something that was more deliberate and carefully applied. All of a sudden everything becomes exaggerated, from the headpiece to her expression to her arms that frame the picture. There’s an intensity that I didn’t see before.

This is an image from a new collection that I’ll upload soon. The rest of the images are ‘normal’ in comparison :)

summer's child..

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of shooting a friend of mine. We'd been talking of doing something and finally one golden evening we pulled on our wellies and ventured off to play in the Oxfordshire countryside. 

<3 

One photo.. 3 edits

This sometimes happens to me. I take a photo and when it comes to editing I realise that it can go in directions that I may not have initially intended. That realisation and this unexpectedness is what makes me love what I do so much. Personal work for me an outlet to be more experimental and playful. I had planned the image above. The images below I hadn't and in this case were happy accidents. All are mine and I wanted to share what happens occasionally.  

Scroll down to see a step by step instruction to how I created the image above ^^

I absolutely love the way the girl fades the closer she gets to the sky. So much so that I wanted to bring her closer.. 

***

Ok! Here we go. This is a step by step of the first image. I went back and took some screenshots to give you an idea as to how I work and my editing process for this particular image. I hope you find it useful and before we being I want to apologise for my incredibly artistic messy handwriting :)

****

Here's the original. I shot this with my 50mm f.18.

So the first thing I always do is create a square crop that would work for the composition I would like. 

Using the crop tool I extended the frame, in this case to continue the road til the corners..

Road extended, check. Adding the stool, to create the illusion of a floating stool I took a separate image holding it where I wanted it.  

As you can also see from the side there I work using layer masks instead of the erase tool. If there was one thing I couldn't work without in Photoshop it would be layer masks. I barely use the erase tool and this allows me to not only blend seamlessly but also to be able to correct any over enthusiastic erasing. 

I then duplicated the layer with the sitting girl and navigated her to where I wanted her so that both images make sense.

And that's it we're done! Haha :P

Another thing which I would recommend and in most cases I do this is to take an 'empty' photo. That way when it comes to adding and erasing elements it's A LOT easier. I actually didn't remember to grab this shot so had to make my own empty photo combining other photos that I took. Just shows that if you don't get it's not the end of the world. Instead of one minute it'll take you 5. 

So now I have the basic image but there's more..

The light was fading when I finally managed to light the smoke pellets. 

Blended into the scene using layer masks! 

New layer > Stamp visible (Cmd + Alt + Shift + E) > B/W

Combination of experimenting with curves, colour balance and brightness/contrast.

And that's about it! In total it took me a lot longer than it should have but I had fun learning and experimenting. 

I hope this helped! Let me know what you think.

 I don't mind sharing what I know and in turn if you have any suggestions for me that would be very welcome too ^_^

B

Rory & Jody

I've known Rory for several years now. We met in our first year of university. I was in the architecture course and he in the interior architecture department but because both subjects were so closely linked everyone more or less knew each other. I knew about Jody then but as things would have it somehow with all the madness we'd never met. Years later we both got our masters and he was keeping me up to date with life and Jody, whom somehow I'd still hadn't met but felt like I'd known her for years! When Rory told me about the proposal I was literally doing the happy dance. I was so happy for them!

When I met Jody for the first time on her wedding day it was like finally meeting an old friend. It was that simple. Jody, if you're reading this let me tell you that you are amazing and you looked so beautiful!

Shooting a friend's wedding was a first for me and I admit I was a little nervous but really excited too. It was also the first wedding I've actually been invited to! Here's their invitation, look how cute it is! 

They had both decided that they wanted a small and intimate wedding with just close family and friends, and when the big day rolled round, it was the perfect summer's day (which if you live in England you would know just how rare that is!) oh the location was Stunning! With a capital S.

Rory and Jody make a wonderful couple and just seeing how thoughtful and considerate they are with each other you just know these guys will go the distance. 

On a side note I have to admit I had a little bit of self inflicted drama on the way there. Let's just say I won't be getting the RSVP and the venue addresses mixed up ever EVER again! Phew.. Thankfully it was a happy ending as fortunately I'd left super early and somehow got there on time (and in one piece). Lesson learnt!

So here are the photos! It was a happy day filled with fun, tears, laughter, peacock chasing, badminton playing, impromptu dancing and so much more!

But first, feed the cat, water the dog, get in your pjs, get comfortable.. yep it's a long 'un  :)

Soon after the wedding, the happy couple packed up, honeymooned and moved to start a new chapter of their lives in Australia! 

♥