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?
#motherhood #emptynest #mumlife #flyingthenest #michellefeyphotography #nzipp #hawkesbaynz #hawkesbayphotographer #nzphotography #PortraitPhotography
You have done a great job Mumma, 🥰🥰
No, I’ve never been to your house.
Hugs my friend, you've raised amazing boys♥️
I’m there 😢💜
Love you my friend xxx
Awww girl this is my greatest fear, we will never be ready it just happens to us I guess. VERY bittersweet ❤️🩹 beautiful post, BEAUTIFUL pictures 🖤
I am already dreading this moment. ❤️🥰❤️
It does get easier and a whole new life as they add others to the family unit.
I think separation helped me… I had to let go early … I watched this a lot in mothers as my kids flew the coop and thought … 💩 mother I am not feeling the feels… then realised actually life prepared me for it in a whole different way… and by the time Tyler left we were well ready 😛 Hugs 🥰
lol not yet and they multiplied🥰🥰
I’d like to say it gets easier… but, I’d be lying!
The struggle is very real it’s been fabulous to watch our girl thrive at university but it took a lot of time for me to stop crying. The feeling of loss and happiness all in one. Am thankful I still have 1 at home for a few more years. Lots of walking, podcasts and trips to chch helped. X
Oh mumma it’s tough xx
Great post. Very relatable. It is definitely the end of an era but also the start of a new one - which I find quite exciting. I love watching my kids grow & become young, independent adults. Time to focus on you! What do you want to do with your life now!?? And I agree with Frances this shows that you have done a fab job as their mum & they will benefit from your love & support always! ❤️❤️❤️
Yep i hear you. Hang in there. He is doing what he wants to do
Think about this way to often considering we are 8 years away but the last 10 + years have gone so fast 😭😭
I don’t know the emotional roller coaster that you are going through, but how lucky are you to have the talent of photography. You get to have the most amazing moments captured in time forever. The moments that make you sons shine through the lens of a mother’s love. 🥰
Empty nest is real !
It's an emotional roller-coaster, certainly alot harder with them so far away, hang in there mumma ❤️ hope Reuben is doing great and all settled in
Yes. And you have done a mighty fine job that they are off living their lives. And you will always be Mum. And they come back 😂 and they still need you ❤️
Mine are still so little but I’m dreading this day 🙁
Nearly there.. the change already has been drastic enough though! Now i live for the visits and fun adult times together 🥂 and then.. they leave again ..😢! bring back the chaos! 💕💕
Our oldest is not mine biologically, but I've been a SM to her for 10 years. She moved out of home last year and it was a bitter-sweet moment of; "we have done such a good job of teaching you to be a successful, independent, contributing member of society who has the confidence and readiness to fly your wings, which means you're leaving us." Hubby and I always lighten it by telling ourselves we exceeded our parenting KPIs. 😅 But now there's the part that we have a baby and want to do just as well with her so she's confidently independent, but maybe not quite so well, so she feels the need to stick around home a little longer... ;P 😂😂
❤️🩹💔💖😔 much love my friend x
Yip totally get you!! Buttttt on the plus you do have hey hey hey it’s Johnny Fey 😏😁🙌
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.
#nzipp #michellefeyphotography #hawkesbaynz #newzealandphotography #fineartphotography #blackandwhitephotography #LandscapephotographyNZ #ilfordnz #ilfordprints
Wonderful Nature
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. 💛
#NZIPP #michellefeyphotography #michellefey #hawkesbaynz #hawkesbayphotographer #fineartphotography #blackandwhitephotography #familyphotography #ilfordimaging #ilfordnz #ilfordprints
Amazing Michelle. To have such a personally special image that is also recognised by your industry x
Beautifully captured Michelle Fey… 💕
That's beautiful Michelle 🥰❤️
I love this photo and the story behind it. ❤️
Love this 🫶
3 amazing people in this photo and 1 behind it 🤍
Beautiful photo and words.
Amazing Michelle!!
I love this Michelle x
A photograph that tells a 1,000 words.!! Well deserved Award... Will phone Llanys and Gary for a chat....
LOVE LOVE LOVE this photo, and the people captured in it. 💙💖💚 such a brilliant story Michelle 🌻
I like the hidden surprises I. This photo. The wine label gave me a giggle.
Marvyns Mother lived to 101 with dementia. My friends husband has Alzimers only 70 from rugby knokes.
Bugger the Awards and NZIPP.... this Photo is beautiful and tells a seriously important Story and deserves a better Viewing Platform than a stupid Competition.
Watched my beautiful ‘life of the party’ Nana, shrink away slowly over a decade. A painful scary journey for the ones who care and are watching on the sidelines. I miss her very much. 🕊️
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.
#nzipp #michellefeyphotography #michellefey #hawkesbaynz #hawkesbayphotographer #fineartphotography #intentionalcameramovement #blackandwhitephotography #ilfordimaging #ilfordnz #ilfordprints
You so good!
So moody..
Stunning
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.
#nzipp #michellefeyphotography #michellefey #hawkesbaynz #wellingtonnz #newzealandphotography #fineartphotography #intentionalcameramovement #LandscapephotographyNZ #ilfordimaging #ilfordnz #ilfordprints
Stunning images Michelle 🌅
These are amazing! So picturesque!
Very cool Michelle 🌻
Well done you have done so well.Very proud of you Love Mum & Dad
So amazing 🤩
You are amazing!
Gorgeous ❤️
Stunning 😍
Absolutely amazing 👏 🤩
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 & HastingsTag 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!
How fabulous 👌
Nice... But I missed how long it took you to do the puzzle!??
Just coming up for air, it has been crazy here behind the scenes, one week I was on the other side of the lens, judging at the NZIPP Iris Awards.
It's a different kind of focus. Hours, working through print after print with fellow judges, weighing composition, technique, and story against a standard I've spent 25+ years trying to meet myself. There's something about judging from the print rather than a screen, it changes how closely you look.
There's a quiet intensity to it (that's me in the first shot, mid-thought, somewhere else entirely) and then the moments where the discussion gets going, hands up, cases being made, a bit of friendly disagreement over what makes an image work.
Being trusted to sit on that panel and judge the work of my peers is genuinely one of the honours of this career. Grateful for the invitation, and for the chance to see so much strong New Zealand photography up close.
And I promise I will share some of mine soon!
Photo credit to the amazing Doug from The Records with Heather & Doug Thank you
#NZIPP #michellefeyphotography #michellefey #hawkesbaynz #hawkesbayphotographer #fineartphotography #blackandwhitephotography #newzealandphotography #ilfordimaging #ilfordnz #ilfordprints
#NZIPP #michellefeyphotography #michellefey #hawkesbaynz #hawkesbayphotographer #fineartphotography #blackandwhitephotography #newzealandphotography #ilfordimaging #ilfordnz #ilfordprints
Awesomeness Michelle 🤩🤩
Well done Michelle 😀
What a fantastic achievement and opportunity. Well done! And beautiful expressive photos of you 🥰
👏👏👏
You’re awesome 🤩
This is incredible Michelle 💕
Awesome!!!!
Fabulous time to use your skills, talent and knowledge and be judge! Nice to see you in the frame tooooo ps the camera likes you x
I love how expressive your hands are. So very Michelle Fey and great to see some photos of you for a change!
Love these shots of ya lovely lady! X
So wonderful for you Michelle Fey. You are awesome 🫶xx
So good!! Love that you get to see both sides
Can I be a Judge?
So amazing being down in Chch for everything photography. My images judged, judging others work. So much learning, community, catching up, meeting new friends. I will share my images over the next few days.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.For those that have been asking what is it like....
Awesome!!!! So much fun aye!!
Wow tht is amazing
Epic!
Love love love 🌈❤️
Amazing colouring
Yahooooooooo!!! Bloody good! See you in a few hours!! Xxx
Fabulous hair for a fabulous lady🌈
OMG I love it 😍
You've chosen the piece. You've found the wall. Now it's yours to look after. ✨
A framed fine art print isn't a set-and-forget decoration, it's an investment. Sunlight, humidity, even the way you dust it all play a part in how long it lasts.
New on the blog: how to care for your framed fine art print, so it's still telling its story on your wall in twenty years' time. Link in comments 👇
#nzipp #michellefeyphotography #michellefey #hawkesbaynz #newzealandphotography #fineartphotography #blackandwhitephotography #LandscapephotographyNZ #ilfordimaging #ilfordnz #ilfordprints