Currently based in Leeds, photographer Megan Dalton graduated from Leeds Arts University in 2020 with first class honours in BA (Hons) in Fashion Photography. Megan has developed a timeless and considered photographic language on both digital and analogue mediums by using a distinct, rich colour palette and minimal aesthetic with graphic sensibilities.
Megan has applied her photographic approach to editorial features for publications including the Financial Times, Boys by Girls Magazine, alongside being listed as a ‘One to Watch’ in the AND Then There Was Us 2019 Annual and It’s Nice That graduates. Megan is currently undertaking the England’s New Lenses Commission in partnership with English Heritage and Photoworks, supported by Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Her thoughtful approach has also extended into a self-publishing practice, having published 4 personal projects over the last year: ‘For Me and You’ (2020), In Absence (2020), For the Love of The Game (2019), Looking North (2019). Megan’s work has been exhibited in a number of group shows held at independent venues across Leeds including Village Books, The Brunswick, Wharf Chambers and The Old Red Bus Station.
About ‘Personal Work’ – words by Megan Dalton:
My personal practice tends to be an observation of light and colour found in objects and/or spaces. I find myself making this work in order to explore and find an opportunity to briefly pause time, a moment, both for myself and for the audience of my work.
My process for making this work is often playful, whether that is simply through re-imagining the ways in which I could photograph my own space or, dropping a pin on a map and going to explore unfamiliar surroundings. The moments that will catch my eye to photograph are completely dependent on the light, often leading me to track and follow the warmth of the sunlight throughout the day. Although I tend to explore unfamiliar landscapes, I find a certain kind of joy in photographing familiar objects or scenes in a new way; creating a dreamlike photograph of something that is in fact quite mundane in our everyday.
Besides the moments that make me want to pause and observe a scene, the medium I use also encourages this slower process. Shooting on film requires me as the photographer to stop for a moment, looking down the viewfinder to consider all the elements in the scene and how the light will cast across the subject of my photograph.
