SYMPHONY OF COLOUR

OANA BAKOVIĆ

// Enter Oana´s world, a contemporary fine art photographer with a keen eye for the extraordinary. Drawn to the untamed beauty of wild flora, often endangered species, Oana’s lens captures the intriguing details of strange plants. In this collection, we explore a selection of her luminous floral landscapes, where nature unfolds in a symphony of colour and movement.

Based in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, she was born in the Black Sea port city of Constanta to a Croatian father and Romanian mother. Always a passionate photographer, she began by documenting her family life in tandem with her work as an advertising professional. In 2020, Oana finally focused more on her art, realising that her interest lay mainly in the natural world and refining the technique of using a flash with ambient light and sometimes ND filters.

Things started moving in the right direction for her when she entered and won first prize in a local photographic art competition. In 2022, after winning the Sony World Photography Awards.

“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.”

Theodore Roethkee

What draws you to the arts?

“Making or experiencing art makes me feel free. I can create my universe and immerse myself in it without any notion of time or space.”

What do you like best about this photo project?

“It is a world of thriving nature.”

Flowers are an essential part of our culture and history, an iconic symbol of femininity and strength, and vital to the health of our planet. Oana’s photography of flowers and plants goes beyond their beauty and decorative value. Her flowers are not arranged still-lifes outside the rules of their own world. By photographing them in their natural environment, she aims to convey their “soul”, highlighting the interplay of natural elements that make them unique and vulnerable. It is Oana’s fear that humanity is losing touch with nature that drives her on this journey to capture and share the sometimes overlooked beauty of the world we are a part of. “I like to emphasise ‘nature’s flaws’ in my art,” says Oana, “and no shift, embellishment or arrangement may add to what nature has created itself.

The only artificial element is a flashlight, which she uses to bring the fantastic microcosms of nature to life. She usually works at “magical hours”, chasing interesting angles, different intensities of natural light and wind-driven movement.

Oana´s lens transforms the natural world into an otherworldly scene. The familiar becomes strange, with even the smallest plants taking on the stature of giants. The rich and saturated colors further enhance this captivatingly strange perspective.

Click on the photos to see a larger image with its title. Some images may be cropped for layout.