Music Photographer
Ivana Margarita Ignatova is a photographer based in London and Exeter.
She started out with photography at 6 years old by taking photos of flowers on her family camera, receiving the highest praise from her grandmother, whom she is named after, who would set them as her profile pictures on Skype. Having spent most of her summers in Bulgaria, she fell in love with street photography and capturing everyday scenes, both from a sentimental and creative standpoint, drawing on the work of William Eggleston and Luigi Ghirri for inspiration.
Photography and music have always been two of the biggest things in Ivana’s life, only recently beginning to combine them. From a young age, her parents and family friends introduced her to their favourite songs and artists across countless genres and countries, meaning she jumps between songs of completely different styles. She is always trying to discover new music, which has been made even more exciting through photography. Ivana began her journey as a live music photographer in the Spring of 2023 after photographing her friends’ band and then getting her first job for Mouldy T, who performed at Cavern to raise money for charity, regularly attending shows since then. Her top musical discoveries have been Haytor and Oliver Beardmore, who were supporting acts she had seen at Cavern. Ivana’s favourite show she has attended in Exeter is Junodream, a dream-rock band who recently headlined there and introduced their new album Pools of Colour.
Her current kit consists of a Nikon Z5 and a versatile 24-70mm Nikkor lens, and her Canon 200D, which she started out on. She has several concerts lined up in London this year, including Declan McKenna, Kawala, AC/DC and Jungle, to which she will be bringing her point-and-shoot Canon G7X and photographing from the crowd.
Ivana frequently explores Exeter and the surrounding areas. Her favourite spots include Castle Fine Art Gallery, Mango’s Cafe on the quay, especially on a sunny day, and Totnes for a day trip. She recommends Sunday evenings at Old Firehouse to discover new musical talent, including her friends’ band Psyche, whom she frequently works with, as well as Jazz nights at Artigiano’s.
In future, Ivana aims to begin photographing from the pit at concerts in London and eventually become a tour photographer. She also hopes to start her own photographic project, which documents Bulgarian traditions from across the country, particularly the lesser known. Driven by the fact that Bulgaria is one of the fastest disappearing nations due to an ageing population, she wants to publish a photo book to prevent this cultural capital from being lost.
