Michelle Fey Photography

30/10/2026

This is my Mum. She’s 86, and she’s amazing.

This portrait earned a Silver at the NZIPP Iris Awards, but to me it means far more than any award.

The centre is Mum as I see her. Radiant and strong, the woman who holds our family together.

The two smaller portraits are her alter egos.

On the left is The Look. If you were a teenager in our house, you know it. I earned that one a hundred times over as the menace pushing every boundary going. 😬

On the right is the cheeky side. That’s what you get when we’re gently ribbing each other and she’s had enough. 😂

Mum taught me to cook and, dare I say it, to clean. She has always been there for me, even when I pushed those boundaries a little too hard. Every bit of that is what got me to where I am today.

I’m blessed with an amazing family, and I’ll always be grateful for that.

Mum, I love you to the moon and back. ❤️

Does your mum have a look?

27/10/2026

Two weekends. One open studio.

I’m part of the Hawke’s Bay Arts Trail this year, and my studio is open to visitors.

Come and stand in front of the prints. Ask me how they’re made. Have a cuppa and a chat about light, sand and slow shutters.

📍 23a Puketapu Road
🗓 Sat–Sun 7–8 + 14–15 November
🕙 10am – 4pm

Arts Inc. Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay Arts Trail

27/10/2026

I’ve been quiet here. I’ve been busy living in the real world.
But I’m back, and I’ve got something to show you.

This is the second-to-last of my Iris images this year. It was awarded a Silver.

The story is simple. Women used to be mothers. That was the job. Now we’re also the hunters, the gatherers, the providers. We didn’t put the first role down. We just picked up the rest.

Some of us do it on our own. Some of us have a partner who shares the load. Either way, the weight is real.

Look at the frame. Behind her, the family is quiet and sheltered, half in shadow. She’s the one in the light. Facing you. Daring you to ask what it costs.

She mothers. She hunts. She gathers. She provides.

Who carries it all in your family?

One more Iris image to come. Stay close.

21/09/2026

This post is hard. I'm not here for sympathy, just being open: being a mum is hard.

You spend pretty much all of your life revolving around your babies. Wishing for the sleepless nights to end, the walking to start, then school to start. Surviving the juggle of work and school holidays. And then, before you know it... they fly the nest.

It was hard when the first one left, but I still had one who needed me, in a teenage way. Now it's quiet. It's tidy. It's going to take a while to get used to. Anyone else been here?

14/09/2026

Some of my favourite images come from getting lost. I was chasing fog that morning and ended up on a back road I'd never driven before, no plan, just following the light. This one stopped me: the poles and wires leading your eye straight into the hills, disappearing into the mist. There's something about that pull into the unknown that I love.

Stoked this was awarded Silver at the NZIPP Iris Awards.

07/09/2026

This image just received a Silver Distinction at the NZIPP Iris Awards, and it's one of the ones that means the most to me.

It's part of a dementia-themed piece I built with my family, those are my parents, because dementia isn't a distant subject for us, it's our life. My husband's parents both live with it, and if you've walked this road with someone you love, you'll know what I mean when I say we lose them twice: first the person they were, slowly, in pieces, and then eventually, the person themselves.

My son Reuben is in this shot too, wearing his little "grandson" name tag, because that's the layered storytelling I wanted to build into the image. He's always up for playing along with my ideas, no matter how strange the brief sounds, and I love him for it.

Everyone in this photo is okay right now. But making this image was our way of holding that reality gently, naming it, sitting with it, and putting something true into the world instead of looking away from it.

If dementia has touched your family too, you're not alone in it, and we see you.

Has dementia touched your family? I'd love to hear how you've navigated it, drop a comment, I read every one. 💛

01/09/2026

Winter mornings on Te Mata Peak have a way of hiding the world from you, then handing it back one layer at a time.

This one came together as the fog pulled apart below, hills breathing in and out of view, trees standing like the only certain thing left. Nothing about that morning was staged. I just stood there and let it happen.

Proud to share this took Bronze at the 2026 Iris Awards. 🥉

Now testing it on Ilford's newest fine art paper, Pearlescent, there's a sparkle to the surface that photos genuinely can't do justice too. A fresh print run is on its way, and it'll be even better than what you see here.

Watch this space, it'll be ready to grace your walls soon.

31/08/2026

I know there are people who've been waiting to see my award images this year, so I'll start with 3 landscapes that received a Bronze at this year's NZIPP Iris Awards. 🏆

Swipe through, the first is straight out of camera, no tricks, just being in the right place at the right moment. The second is a triple exposure on metallic paper, built up in-camera to capture the layered haze over the Wellington hills. And the third is a double exposure with movement, ICM, to pull that soft, drifting quality out of the Hawke's Bay mist.

Twenty-five years behind the camera, starting out photographing crime scenes for NZ Police, and it's moments like this that remind me why I still chase the light the way I do.

These will make their way to the website soon.

30/08/2026

Thanks for having me! Love listening to this series. Head over to The Breeze for a chance to win some treats! 🤗 I just love Cuteneys Cakes & Desserts - Napier & Hastings

Tag a friend to win!

To celebrate being part of our Hawke’s Bay Women in Business Series, Michelle owner of Michelle Fey Photography is giving away a $100 Cuteneys Cakes & Desserts - Napier & Hastings voucher! ✨

And don’t forget to tune in this morning around 7.40am to hear from Michelle herself!

02/08/2026

For those that have been asking what is it like....