Expo

The photographer

30 years ago on an expedition to Alaska, swiss photographer Michel Roggo caught his first glimpse of migrating salmon and resolved to return each year until he had captured good photographs of them underwater. After several failed attempts, Michel perfected his technique for shooting underwater without having to dive. The advantage of this, says Michel, is that "fish are not really concerned about a housing on the riverbed and it allows me to capture their natural behavior".
Using the technique he developed for salmon, Michel began photographing other freshwater subjects, focussing more and more on freshwater landscapes, and revealing these unique habitats for perhaps the first time. He has since become an award-winning leader in his field. "We know what coral reefs look like", Michel says, "but what about the creeks, streams, lakes and ponds on our doorstep? I'm always looking for new and interesting scenes with the most dramatic light - a marsh pond, under the ice in a mountain stream, among algae… these habitats are hardly ever seen but they are incredibly beautiful."
Although Michel still mostly uses remote controls to make his underwater images, he started shooting pictures while snorkeling - the day after his 60th birthday. And two years later he finally started diving in Lake Baykal - it’s never too late for a new experience.
In 2011, with the experience of more than a hundred expeditions behind him, Michel Roggo launched an ambitious project dedicated to freshwater: The Freshwater Project. In seven years he photographed forty different and spectacular freshwater environments from around the world. The project was supported by the IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Michel has had more than 40 exhibitions of his work, has been a prize-winner in many competitions, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year and European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and his work has been published by GEO, BBC Wildlife, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC online, Mare, Art Malaysia Magazine, WWF International, Sierra Magazine and more. He was a Wild Wonders of Europe photographer.