Hi everyone, Bella here!
I'm beyond excited to introduce you to an incredible artist who's been inspiring us all with her innovative use of our OnlyTheCurious color grades in her creative process. Meet Dominika Klimczak, a talented and versatile photographer based in Poland. Dominika’s work is a perfect blend of creativity and technique, and I’m sure you'll find her as inspiring as I do!
Hi Dominika! Can you share a bit about your background and how you got started in photography?
Hi Bella and readers of onlythecurious blog! Thank you for taking the time to interview me!
I was born in Poland and this is where I create all my photography. I grew up in the countryside, which is geographically located in an extraordinary place - in the Krakow-Czestochowa Jurassic Highland, which is full of beautiful landscapes created from uplands of white limestone rocks and medieval ruins of castles. The most wonderful place I could have dreamed of spending my childhood. Also because of this beautiful place, where high white rocks take shapes that are hard to describe, my imagination began to form.
The love of creating photographs has always been with me, and I owe this love to my Dad, who always had a camera with him and captured most of our family moments. Seriously, I can't count how many photo albums there are in our family home. I identified with the concept of capturing a fleeting moment forever with my camera, because when I create my photography I feel the presence of my Dad, who unfortunately is no longer with me. With photography I can continue what he loved so much.
When I was still a child, my parents noticed in me a great artistic desire for painting and drawing and directed my education towards art. This artistic background definitely helps me a lot in creating photographs. For example, in composing the frames, choosing colors and, most importantly for me, thinking of my photographic work as painting. I love to say that I treat raw photos like an unpainted canvas.
As a teenager, my cousin and I started taking our first amateur photo shoots with our Olympus digital cameras. Mine had a slightly broken shutter, but it didn't bother me. I enjoyed the creative process. Later, when I got as a gift from my mother and stepfather my first Sony a58 DSLR camera, I was a military and airsoft photographer. I traveled to the biggest ASG events in Poland and did photographic reports.
After a few years, I felt that I could not maximize my imagination in this subject matter. Browsing the Internet, I accidentally came across a photograph that changed my view of photography by 180 degrees. It was your photography, Bella. I instantly fell in love with this style. In the full narrative and immersive visual journey created from flowers, beautiful accessories, creations and of course extraordinary models.
And now, thanks to you, I am where I am. I am fulfilling myself creatively in something that you actually started. Thank you and I am extremely grateful to you for that.
With the camera - a medium that is supposed to show real moments - I started to show imaginary worlds.
Model: @viktoriamiriam
When dreaming up the narratives and scenes for your ethereal photoshoots, where does your creative process kick off?
It's annoying sometimes, but usually when I go to bed. I try to fall asleep and my brain starts going crazy and coming up with concepts for a new photo shoot and the stream of consciousness begins:
Hmm... There is a mossy trunk next to my apartment. How about I create silver faun horns for it? I'll cover them with white flowers! They will contrast with the greenery! White! I should buy a new white dress for this shoot. Maybe should I buy more faux flowers? Which model should I write to with this idea? Omg, the tiara will fit this session! I should immediately write to a friend who creates tiaras! But how about I create that session at home in studio conditions? Wait, but I was supposed to do a mermaid session in the studio! Hmm… What if I sewed a hundred beads to the dress I already have instead of buying a new one? Sounds like a brilliant plan! (...)
And so on for a couple of hours, until I take my phone in my hand and write down everything my brain came up with. And at that moment my eyes got a huge dose of light from the screen and instead of falling asleep I started thinking again! The sleepless circle of looking for an idea for the session rolls on!
Fortunately, there are some nights where I fall asleep right away because, for example, while browsing the Internet, I come across some amazing idea for a session. Often these are someone else's illustrations, where the character is in a wonderful and unobvious pose. It may be that I come across Pre-Raphaelite paintings that inspire me greatly in composition, color and emotion. Or my fiancé will give me a gift of a bouquet of flowers and I immediately want to capture them forever in a photograph as an extras for the model during the session.
Lately I've fallen in love with creating my own accessories for my photo shoots, such as horns, mermaid ear muffs or corsets and belts created from hot glue. In this case, it's the elements I create that drive the whole concept for the session and it's around them that I create the narrative. Or they are an inseparable and integral element to the piece I got from other creators (headpiece or tiara, for example). This type of session I consider the most mine and it is in them that I express myself the most.
There is no single creative process for me, because it is always fluid and caused by different impulses. And that is beautiful! I always come across some amazing surprises that inspire me!
Model: @gard.iela / Tiara: @velimea.jewelry / Headpiece: @mishka.photo
How has being based in Poland influenced and shaped the art you create, and in what ways does your culture play a role in the stories and themes you wish to share with the world through your photography?
Poland is in a beautiful geographic alignment. Access to the sea, amazing mountains, full of moss-laden forests, crossed by rivers. Some time ago I went with my friends Victoria Veil and Vairette to the Polish Tatra Mountains to take photos on Kasprowy Wierch. Stone sharp peaks emerging from the icy embrace of winter. This whole picture fits perfectly into frames straight out of fantasy. I can't describe the beauty and majesty of these views. It must be seen with your own eyes.
I mentioned at the very beginning the medieval castles in the area where I grew up. I'm already planning how to incorporate these architectural monuments into my photography. I was thinking about the atmosphere of The Witcher, which is also heavily inspired by beautiful Polish folklore. And speaking of Polish folklore - flowers, flowers and more flowers! Just look at the folk ornaments whose designs are based on their beauty! Growing up in the countryside, I was surrounded by all this.
Polish symbolic painting is also a huge source of inspiration for me. If you have moments I really recommend looking at the paintings of Jacek Malczewski (the painting “Błędne Koło” shows how much color and dynamics affects the drama of the representation), Władysław Podkowiński (in one of my photographs I was inspired by the way he painted golden hair in his painting “Szał Uniesień”) or Józef Mehoffer (his painting “Dziwny Ogród” is a great source of inspiration). These outstanding artists showed Polish nature in a metaphysical and philosophical way.
The most wonderful thing about it all is that this beautiful Polish nature is alive and changing with each of the four seasons giving the landscapes a completely different look, color, texture and character. This makes it possible to create here all year round without rest. There will always be something to inspire you. Early spring is full of white flowers and the rain of their petals filled with the harmony of birdsong. Wheat fields that were bathed in hot, late summer sunshine, shimmering with shades of gold and copper. Autumn plays with shades of reds and browns with the mysteriousness of the cold fog heralding the coming winter, during which nature sleeps under the snow glittering with a million sparks. Here it is impossible not to find inspiration when such beautiful things are happening around you with nature. I take photographs at any of these seasons.
On the technical side of things, what skills do you find crucial to imagine and bring to life the visions you have in mind?
First - composing the frame at the stage of taking the photo itself. This is something I was taught in painting classes and is the base for further work. Arranging the directions in the photo. Interesting diagonal lines. Or choosing a totally static pose. Now, thanks to AI and generative filling, we have an easy way to expand the frame, but in the subject of framing, you should count on your own skills. As I mentioned - this is the base for further work on the final frame. While we can expand the frame with the help of AI, the positioning of the elements and the model in the photo can already be a problem if we do not pay attention to it during the session.
Second - post-production, of course. There are a lot of things that, no matter how much I would like to, I will not achieve in the real world. For example, I don't have the ability to put a big oyster shell in the studio so that the model stands in it, but I have the ability to add it in post-production. I do have a habit of collecting pretty things found in nature, and I can later take a photo of an oyster shell found years ago and blend it into the frame.
I want to create an imaginary world, but I have to use things from the real world. If I want to give them an unreal look, I have to put a lot of work into it. Changing the scale, shape, color, matching with another thing and being able to put them well together, add lights and shadows. Maybe a huge moon behind the model? Of course! With the growth of technology and graphics programs, we can create anything.
I often add artificial light to photos. There was a session where there was no sun completely. Just clouds. The photos were flat and uninteresting, but I managed to create the impression that the sun was shining behind the model. Her hair was lit up and created a beautiful aura. Lacking this skill, I would not have published these photos.
All that I have written about is an endless learning process to be able to get it right. Often you have to learn from your mistakes and be able to see them in your previous works so you don't make them again. I still make mistakes. That’s normal. The important thing is not to give up on this learning.
Color seems to play a huge role in setting the mood in your images. How big a part does color play in the initial planning and conceptualization of a photoshoot?
Now I am conscious of the color I choose for a particular photo shoot. Looking back, I would change a lot in photographs just in terms of color. They were not thoughtful color palettes. There was a lot going on, and I feel that too much color had a negative impact on the perception of the photo as a whole. At that time I was looking for myself and a way to express myself artistically. I experimented a lot.
With my current sense of aesthetics, I know that too many different colors from the edge of the spectrum is not something I look for in my photography. Now I’m focusing on a consistent color palette. Based on similar colors with a possible color dominant that will be an interesting point in the frame. Ideally, these should be warm colors falling into gold. I rarely create anything in cold tones, but I don't close myself off to them completely. There have been frames full of whites and blues, but throughout my portfolio they are small exceptions.
What else I can say about my attitude to colors is that I do not reflect them as they are in the real world. All post-production is based on giving the photograph a different tone by changing the colors. As I mentioned before - I don't want to show the world as it is in real life. I want to create new worlds in which the rules of physics do not exist. I can play with colors and split them with a prism as I want. I can add my favorite turquoise glow to the model's skin, and imagine that in my dream world that I create, the sun gives just such a color.
Model: @fog_in_the_garden / Ear muffs: @mishka.photo
Given your experience with our onlythecurious actions, which ones do you find yourself using most frequently? Are there any that have become your go-to tools, and why do you find them particularly effective?
I'll be honest - I can no longer imagine my photographic work without action from onlythecurious. How much they make the whole creative process easier for me is real magic. They allow me to focus on all other aspects and allocate more time to them. For example, on the composite, adding elements, creating a narrative from them in post-production. I don't worry about colors, because I know that with one click I will have a consistent color palette, as I mentioned in the previous question. What I also love about these actions is that I can change literally every aspect and one action can completely change and adapt to my needs.
This is what I have with my favorite Regal action. How universal this action is for me and always gives the desired painterly effect is amazing! Likewise with Secret Garden and The Kiss from The Romantic Collection or Garden of Life from The Flora Collection. I also love the effect that the Evergreen and Blush of Rose actions give.
Another important product from onlythecurious that often appears in my photography is digital backdrops. I fell in love with the painterly presentation of flowers in The Floral Stories Collection. They are simple to use, beautifully and dynamically composed and complement a blank black background I photograph against.
Dear Reader - if you are still wondering if you should buy actions or digital backdrops from onlythecurious - do it. Seriously, it will make your photography work incredibly easier and take your frames to a new level. ♥
Models: @coppery_diana / @victoria__veil / @kahulaa / @vairette
What other artists or art movements have influenced or inspired you?
As I mentioned earlier - it started with seeing your photography, which had the biggest impact on me, so it won't be a surprise if I say that you are one of my main inspirations (and I still can't believe that it is the Artist who had such an impact on me who is interviewing me!)
Other photographers who influence and inspire me are Lillian Liu, Agnieszka Lorek, Michaela Durisova, Elizabeth Elder, Menna Hossam Soliman, Cristina Otero, Marketa Novak and Iness Rychlik. These women are a true creative force and what they create always delights me and motivates me to improve myself and my skills.
What also inspires me are the handcraft artists and the designers. Janina Gold, Velimea Jewelry, Ziwu Artemis, Firefly Path, Fairytas, Fancy Fairy Angela, Agnieszka Osipa, Candymakeupartist, Forest Rogers… I could list a lot!
The art movements that inspire me are definitely the Pre-Raphaelites and their paintings. Due to the fact that I don't treat my photography as photography per se, but more like digital painting, being inspired by works of art is very important to me. I still have to mention Baroque painting, from which I appreciate tenebrism (it is a way of composition in which a figure is brought out of darkness by using harsh chiaroscuro). I love this type of lighting in studio photography and I definitely want to create more in this style.
Model: @nevsatan / Headpiece: @janinagoldart / Corset & armpieces: @mishka.photo
What is your all-time favourite photograph that you've captured or created, and could you share what it is about that particular image that resonates with you on a personal level?
It's hard for me to choose one photo, because there will be a couple that resonates with me, but I think the most important one will be a photo that features my best friend Anna Padula. A beautiful person inside and out. An extremely artistically gifted and sensitive person with the voice of an angel.
This photograph for both of us is very important. It was created during a very hard time for Anna. We decided that creating this photo shoot would be important for her to feel beautiful and strong again. As beautiful and strong as I always see her. For more than 10 years now, since I met her.
Purple is Anna's favorite color, and butterflies are a very important symbol for her. It was Anna's idea to cover her eyes with butterflies. This made this photograph interpretable in thousands of different ways. It is believed that the eyes are the most important element in photography. They are the mirror of the soul. But... we covered them with butterflies - delicate creatures that are fragile and elusive - like human sensitivity. This added incredible power to this photo.
Also the title of this photograph plays an important role - Rip out the wings of a butterfly. It is a phrase in one of the songs of my most beloved band HIM. Anna also very much identified with this phrase. She later created an amazing artwork which represents this.
Model: @a.padulka
What advice would you have for photographers who might want to discover their own creative style?
Surround yourself with people who inspire you, who create and who make you want to create. If you meet someone on your path who tries to cut your wings - cut yourself off from that person. I met someone like that on my path. It was my thesis supervisor (interestingly, it was my master's thesis and I chose the topic of fairy tale photography, which I sadly never finished because of that person). Believe me, you don't want such people around you. You need people who will believe in you and support you in your artistic journey. It will make you grow at many different levels!
Visit exhibitions, museums and art galleries. Create folders of the works that have influenced you the most, and get elements from them that you will interpret and transfer into your photography.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Each of us once searched for ourselves and our style. It took a lot of years, creative crises, art blocks, but if you want to and you really love it, you will manage. I spent many of my years in airsoft and military photography. It wasn't the ideal direction for me, but it was part of the creative journey I had to go through to be in the place I love. You too will go through different paths in your search for yourself and your way of expressing yourself artistically. Each stage of this journey is for something and will teach you something. Don't give up and keep exploring this beautiful medium.
I personally find it helpful to think that the next frame I create will be the one I am most satisfied with. Visualize that in front of you, in your future, is something to be proud of.
I believe in you and know that you will achieve your own personal success.
Self-portrait
Can you share five essential items that you include in your photography gear bag?
- Sony a7 III & Tamron 28 -75mm F/2.8
- bluetooth speaker
- clear eyelash glue (to glue anything to the model's skin)
- gold and silver florist wire and small wire cutters (seriously, if you want, for example, to make a wreath of flowers for a quick, or upgrade styling, I recommend carrying this set with you)
- water for me and the model or warm tea in cold weather
Thank you, Dominika, for sharing your insights and the story behind your art. It was truly a pleasure to get to know the artist as much as the art itself. Wishing you continued inspiration and success in all your creative endeavors!
If you'd like to see more art from Dominika, please check out her Instagram linked here!
