“Today I learned that I won the EISA Animal kingdom portfolio photography competition for the UK! It took me hours of work as I would clean an insect one day, set things up and photograph on different days, then process on another day. Luckily, I have a mini studio permanently set up our dining room so I can do minimal activity photography.”
The ME Association is incredibly proud of Angi’s achievements and of this latest award. Her photographs are amazing as is her creative talent and we wish her the best of luck in the EISA international competition.
We are very grateful that she provided some of her images so that we might offer them to you in the form of notelets.
There are 2 options that can be ordered from the website shop.
Angi's Photographs
An interview with Angi Wallace
“Aged 55 and born a Geordie (hailing from Newcastle upon Tyne), I have always had a love of nature and fantasy. As a child I thoroughly enjoyed what were to me adventures, clambering through ditches on my own, searching for mini beasts such as caterpillars or the local wildflowers. I also found entertainment in reading, often Enid Blyton books such as The Faraway Tree and other fantasy books. I developed an appreciation of art, taking up drawing and painting, plus enjoying pottery at school.
“I studied the history of art as part of my History exams. My art teacher encouraged me to aim to be an art therapist – I think he was the only person that ever “got me” whilst young and saw what made me tick. Little did I know that many years later my life would largely revolve around a fascination for the smaller details in nature – insects, mushrooms and plants, coupled with creativity and fantasy, mainly in the forms of photography and art (making nature/fantasy/pagan inspired jewellery).
“Career-wise I was strongly drawn to the care sector, initially hoping to be either a heart surgeon or follow in family footsteps and become a psychiatric nurse. It was not to be, circumstances took me down the path of general nurse training which admittedly I did love but found stressful – I cared too much. My passion for the job and my drive outside of work, always burning the candle at both ends, constantly hiking and climbing mountains, gardening, keeping fit, family life and nightclubbing meant I was always on the go.
“I have had ME for 17 years now and my life has changed beyond comprehension. It has taken a lot of adjustment to get to this point. During this time, I discovered photography, learning what I could from books and the internet and practicing on whatever I could find in our garden – including pets (I have kept frogs and reptiles for 20 years).
“I noticed that I felt the urge to photograph fantasy-like scenes, using frogs, butterflies, damselflies and flowers, and creative portraiture with a hint of fairytale magic. Looking back, I can see that all these subjects were what inspired me as a child.
“Photography has quite literally been my silver lining in having ME. I have a permanent mini studio set up in our dining room with lights, props and backdrops all within reach of my chair. I can sit comfortably with my camera and tripod and slowly create a scene to capture. I have been incredibly lucky with my photography, winning the occasional competition and having images placed in the international garden photographer of the year in 2020.
“I was awarded Plant and Fungi Photographer of the Year with the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers in 2020 and overall Photographer of the Year with the National Photographic Society for 2019. I won the still category of the International Garden Photographer of the Year in 2021 and again in 2022 and came 3rd in the macro category.
This year I have also won Camera Jabber Photographer of the Year and came 1st in the flowers category in the WPE international photography award. It's been quite the year already!”
Angi’s story has been updated from the one that appeared in ME Essential magazine (Autumn 2021)
