Inga Lisa Middleton is a photographer based in London and works both in the United Kingdom and in Iceland. Middleton is a member of PhotoShelter, the leader in portfolio websites, photo sales, marketing, and archiving tools for photographers.
With a B.A (Hons) degree in Photography from the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK and an M.A degree in photography from the Royal College of Art, Middleton has a prestigious background within still photography, advertising, portraiture, and art photography, and has exhibited her work internationally.
Middleton has also successfully written, directed and produced television series and short films. Her animated film “A Fairy Tale of Our Time” was selected for the prestigious main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and was made using still photographs.
When and how did you get started in photography?
After finishing high school in Iceland I enrolled on an Art Foundation course at Sunderland Polytechnic aiming to do a degree in Graphic Design. The first assignment was a photographic project. I was hooked from then on and never looked back. I went on to get a BA (Hons) degree in photography from the University of the Arts, Farnham and an MA degree in photography from the Royal College of Art.
What do you enjoy the most about experimental photography?
I really enjoy a challenge and the thrill of experimenting. Sometimes the images turn out in a way which I didn’t anticipate but these are never a failure, just a step on the way.
You recently worked on a series of cyanotypes titled ‘Thoughts of Home’, how did you come up with this idea?
When I started doing cyanotypes I was going through a phase of missing Iceland, the country where I grew up. I felt that the crisp, deep blue color beautifully expressed a sense of nostalgia and longing, and the cyanotypes also seemed to capture Iceland's cool, arctic light.
The motifs, chosen from a library of photographs I've taken in Iceland over the years, are all from nature and they all have a double meaning; both a poetic symbolism and a more practical function. For example, the sweet-smelling, wild-growing Angelica has powerful healing properties, and the stoic and hardy Icelandic horse acted for centuries as the only means of transport over a hostile landscape of lava fields, snow, and rivers.
You have exhibited in London, Denmark and Iceland, what’s next in your agenda?
From late October I have a solo show at the Roland Belgrave Vintage Photography Ltd, Lewis, UK, and I’m currently working on a series of large-scale cyanotype prints where the subject matter will highlight the wonders of our oceans. Exhibition venues are to be confirmed. Sometime in the near future, I also hope to experiment with other vintage photographic methods.
