What do you get when you combine magic, rain, smoke, forests, and a Phase One medium format camera? Captain Planet!

No, you actually get the recipe for opulent fairytales in cinematic fashion! 

To add to this, bring in a model that is the poster-woman for fairytales (Maria Amanda Schaub), the flower queen photographer (Bella Kotak), grand costume designer (Agnieszka Osipa Costumes), and master videographer (Richard Wakefield). I also was fortunate to do the retouching.

What's amazing is Bella shot this as the sun was setting under misty skies, with rain drizzling down. The clouds were teasing a stronger rainfall. She's hand holding the Phase One XF 100MP camera like it's no big deal while it's tucked away under the umbrella. I know that if it was me, I would be neurotically nervous with the rain. It's awesome to see how well it holds up under low light and the elements. She looked right in her element, like a brilliant dance. 

Enough talk, check out the behind the scenes video and some of the images below: 

Even the BTS shot of the setting is magical on its own. This was shot in the woods of Oxford, UK. 

The way Bella captures a scene always fascinated me. She seemingly just pieces things together as they get to a location. No moodboard, just executing the moment. 

She writes: 

It had just started to drizzle by the time we reached the location. The walk was a little wet and while we had too many things to carry between three people not one person complained. Rather the mood was refreshingly optimistic. 

I spotted a tree stump in front of a huge patch of brambles. The area in front of it was clear. I could imagine a throne set upon it and the small clearing filled with little woodland animals. I knew that's where I would bring my queen to life.

I wanted to capture a queen caught in a slip between worlds. I liked the idea of playing with the delicacy of the soft fragile gypsophila against her powerful presence. A light in the dark woods.

To see more of the story, check out the blog post here: http://www.bellakotakphotography.com/blog/2017/2/12/daughter-of-spring