We’re looking forward to introducing you to TJ Legler. Check out our conversation below.
TJ, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I have been devoting a lot of my personal time lately to introspection and working on myself. For the past several years my life has been in a constant state of “go,” and while my career and reputation has grown much of my personal growth has been overshadowed by this and late 2024 I reached a state of intense burnout, where despite wanting to continue pushing myself life basically forced me to slow down.
This year has been a journey of acceptance and letting go. In this saga I have come to accept things which I have been needing to deal with; past traumas, neurological decompression, and recognizing sometimes the most productive thing I can do is to sit still and “do nothing” so my personal and energetic batteries are recharged to be more effective whenever I’m being creative and performing my craft.
With this in mind, I have recently embarked on a journey of full sobriety, even cutting out cannabis use from my normal day-to-day along with adopting healthy habits of meditation, being more focused on my nutritional health, and finding peace by going on scenic runs while observing the beauty of the natural world.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a 10 year photography veteran that specializes in what’s known as lightpainting photography which, in my style, is a form of psychedelic flow imagery. For the past several years in Colorado, I have built my business within the event industry with my setup called “The Neon Lounge,” where I do live portraiture as well as selling my printed artworks. Currently I am using this artform to draw attention to an important cause. I am putting together a cleanup of the Platte River on October 5th while using lightpainting & portraiture to raise awareness to this event in order to bring people together for the good of the environment. Years ago, when I lived in Mississippi where I’m from, I did similar work in order to draw attention to a cleanup of the local river in my hometown of Jackson, the Pearl River, so in essence I’m using tried and true tactics with my art in order to help make a difference. This is so rewarding! In general, whenever I capture someone’s portrait they feel very seen and validated so in essence, I’m doing the same thing for our Mother Earth and natural water sources.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I would say my relationship with my mother most influenced my self-perception as well as how I view the world. When I was a boy, she instilled within me a belief that I have the power to make a difference in this world, kind of my whole origin story version of, “with great power, comes great responsibility.” This was instilled in me by her teaching me that a person’s word is their bond. I view this with upmost importance whenever I interact with people because whenever I say I’m going to do something, I fully intend to unless circumstances lead me to being incapacitated or the situation ends up not being in my personal flow. I want to be remembered as being a man of integrity, like in how I see myself with my actions.
She also helped me see myself as a natural being of this Earth, not as being removed from it, but fully being a part of the natural order. I think of myself as simply a part of this whole existence, not domesticated with the comforts of modern life but fully living among all the creatures and beings of this world as a neighbor individual. This perspective has influenced a lot of my work, especially this river cleanup and all the projects leading into it, as I feel a deep connection from myself to all things in our world. Everything Lives.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
2025 has been a year of intense loss, & yet I’ve felt myself grow more as a person in these calendar months than in any year prior. With my business, I created not only an entity which needs constant attention, but I also began formulating my identity around it to the point the two were inseparable. In all honesty, the more my business became successful the more miserable I was becoming internally, because TJ Legler, the man, was constantly tired & drained having to feed the artistic monster he created, in most cases putting himself & his heart’s desires secondary.
There have been several moments within this year marked by intense loss, having to move, and finding many of the things I had worked so hard over the years as far as business functionality temporarily reduced. I lived in the desert of the San Luis Valley for 2 months, with many of my photobooth parts in need of repair, as well as many of my personal belongings having been destroyed & lost. My entire material possessions had been reduced to what I could fit into a single load inside my Honda Element, with my festival setup having to sit hundreds of miles away, not accessible, inside a storage unit.
After the initial shock of all my losses, I began picking up the pieces of my life. In the process of examining what I could still do I realized there was still immense power in my fingertips, & instead of feeling drained as I had before, everything felt new again. In being reduced, I found a lot of the fat & fluff had been trimmed from my creative mindset & for the first time in a long time I was excited to create. In my time in Crestone I was humbled, I was no longer this artist in high demand like I am in the Denver metro, I was simply myself & that gave me the freedom to simply be.
My friends Bethany & Tommy provided me with a safe space to hang my hat for a bit, & while I was examining myself we were able to do an epic 3 night long art show at Cervantes in Denver, hence why I view this chapter as a “There & Back Again” journey. It was so beautiful because Cervantes was the last place I worked before spending my time in the desert over the summer, and while I knew I would always come back to Denver, the “Back Again” portion of the story wasn’t simply geographical. I needed to die in order to live again. I remembered what it felt like to paint with sunfire in my hands, & I had my friends reminding me I was someone worthy or being believed in.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no. While I’m authentic no matter what setting you may find me, the public version has many more filters on him while conducting business. I have had a lot of people through my career tell me, “Oh you must love getting to go to shows & work all these events all the time!” & while I do appreciate not having a standard 9-5 work environment, what people do not understand is whenever I am working an event, despite the fact I love what I do, it is still work. A good majority of the time I couldn’t even tell you the names of the music acts playing that evening unless I’m actively capturing them, as my setup is an intensive live art/photobooth/art production laboratory that requires very intense concentration and a set of skills only I have all the keys to….which makes finding a suitable assistant impossible….
In my private life, I’m much more reserved than people realize. I enjoy quite days and spending time to myself in nature. Even if I get invited to go to a music show or event for fun, I oftentimes turn these invitations down because my brain automatically goes back into “work” mode despite not having a setup or shooting a client. My favorite things to do on my own time are to read books, watch movies, & cook exquisite meals for my friends and my all time favorite activity is going on outdoor excursions alone or with a group of friends. The truth is, I’m a very simple man when it comes down to it and I do not need much stimulation or flashy lights (other than the ones I use in my art) or smoke & mirrors to have a good time. I find a lot of peace in simplicity, & that’s truly who I am at my core.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Absolutely. When I first tested & executed my live lightpainting setup where it worked I felt invincible. The concept had been something ruminating in my mind for several years, having had many discussions with other contemporaries in my craft that laid the groundwork, I had to create the system itself that I could operate & once it came to life, for a brief period it was the greatest thing ever….until it wasn’t.
The reality of people one of, if not the only person to do a live lightpainting setup like mine is there is no manual or instruction guide on how to manage certain problems as they arise. There have been many times within minutes to spare before doors open at events where I get locked into troubleshooting mode, whether it be between a printer malfunction, or needing to find a specific part so all the devices in this ecosystem can effectively communicate with one another.
I created an absolute monster with the Neon Lounge setup, in the sense I’m the only one who knows how to operate all the collective parts, & for a while, this created a sense of isolation and loneliness, especially when I began routinely setting up at various events. Towards the end of 2024 I was burned out, slightly jaded, & felt a bit taken advantage of in the sense I was treated differently at various different venues between being labeled as a “vendor, live artist, or painter.” The reality of what I’ve created, & I’ve come to realize this in talking/negotiating with various different festivals is what I actually bring to the table is classified at a level beyond all the aforementioned titles is “live interactive art installation experience.”
With all the technicalities aside, live lightpainting also doesn’t scratch the same itch as lightpainting out in the field. At a show, I have to be faster in order to engage people’s attention for just long enough, but that also leads to a compromise in being able to take a finessed shot or something I find to be exceptional. Most of my career has been doing planned lightpainting excursions out in the field, & up until 2 years ago, the live component was not part of my repertoire but with doing so many events, I found myself having less energy to do what actually creatively satisfies me.
An analogy I use when describing a live lightpainting photo is like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, whereas going out in the field is comparable to doing high sorcery. While the former impresses the crowd & gets a great reaction from the audience, for myself, the magician, after doing the trick thousands of times it ends up being a little dull after a while, & for several months in the past year I felt like I had to show up, do my magic trick, & pray it would impress people enough to keep funding the dream, but the pursuit of money really harmed the creative magic.
With this year, I have scaled back, & been much more intentional about the events I work & that’s led to me having more fun at them, & feeling like my magic meter is at a more full capacity where in a split moment I have the reserve to be able to think quickly on the fly and deviate into something new I can do instead of pulling the proverbial rabbit out of my hat.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjlegler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlegler1
Image Credits
All photos captured by TJ Legler
