“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” This quote by Dorothea Lange epitomises the work of Michelle Legg.
Michelle Legg’s photographs capture the beauty that can be hard to see with the naked eye. A self taught photographer, she uses a full frame camera (Canon 5dMKII) and specialised macro equipment to achieve this result.
Ms Legg, who is a professional photographer, developed a life-long passion for the “small” world when she found her fathers ‘spy’ camera amongst his gear. “It was fascinating. Here was this camera, just a bit bigger than my hand, yet, it could take pictures of a foolscap page – and get it all in focus.”
A visit to a small island in the outer Whitsundays opened her eyes, to another world of life in miniature and hastened her move onto a specialist macro lens with which she has “raided” the insect world in search of intimate detail.
She developed her skills in capturing close-up images of beetles, bugs, butterflies and flowers usually found in parks around Brisbane, first off with a film camera then moving onto digital.
“It enables me to capture the details that can’t be seen with the naked eye and share them with an audience who can appreciate this aspect of life in a different way’’ Michelle explains.
“The insects have a personality and a character – sometimes I can see them grinning at the camera.”
“The biggest challenge is to take pictures of flighty insects. It takes time and patience – it’s like stalking a wild animal – to get that shot.’’
Michelle has already won a macro competition with a shot called “Predator” and her primary aim is to encourage a deeper understanding of the everyday things around us through her images.
To quote Michelle – “To hear such comments as “who knew that this insect was so hairy” or “I immediately liked ALL of her work. Straight off – I felt right at home with her work. Either it happens, or it doesn’t, for me” makes me smile and I know I’m achieving my goal. Photography to me is about creating an emotion and it’s what I like to make my audience feel when viewing my work. “
In May, Michelle had a successful Exhibition at the Art Factory Gallery at South Brisbane. “I’m planning exhibition number two which is going to be quite exciting – stay tuned for dates and the venue”.
If you see an image displayed on my site and wish to use it for the web or if you have that unique image that needs to be captured for both the web or print, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can be reached via email – email at michelle legg dot com to discuss.
I have a blog about macro photography and another blog which is solely devoted to portraiture work.
Calendars can be custom made to suit. Please, just let me know what image you would like to see for what month – easy as that. To view the Calendar range – please click here
Please, bookmark this site as new work is constantly being added and if you would like some more information on what each gallery is about – please click on the ‘about page’ link. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.
MichelleL
