26 http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
JOE MCNALLY
F
or over 40 years Joe
McNally has been a
photographer in a career
that has seen him work
for The New York Daily News, ABC
Television, LIFE, National Geographic
and many other publications. He is
internationally known as one of the
world’s most proficient exponents of
lighting scenes with flashguns and
has twice been in Amazon’s Top 10
bestsellers list for his books.
Talking of books, his latest
publication is the tome The Real
Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a
Working Photographer – it’s a potent
mix of anecdotes, technical advice
and self-deprecating humour, that’s
both great to look at pictorially and
very easy to read. His career in
publishing began as a copy boy at
The New York Daily News, often being
sent out in a radio car to grab film
bags from photographers in different
parts of New York City or at Yankees’
baseball games, but he soon began
getting pictures in the paper and
became afreelance photographer.
McNally recalls, ‘I went from the
Daily News, freelanced for a couple
of years, and then took a job at ABC
Television. That introduced me to
the world of colour and shooting
Kodachrome under pressure. As I
worked my way into ABC, and got to
know a few people who were in the
magazine world, I came to the
attention of Discover magazine.
I started shooting pictures for them
without a credit because I wasn’t
allowed to shoot for anybody else
as I was full-time [ABC] staff, but,
when I could swing something for
them, I would do it.
‘That led to a relationship where
I was asked to become part of the
Discover team that went to
photograph the first launch of the
American Space Shuttle program.
Back in the day, day rates for
freelance magazine shooters were
$250 and they wanted me to go on
assignment for the launch and the
landing, which meant I would
probably make about 12 day rates,
which was huge money. I looked at
my staff pay cheque and I walked in
to see my boss, who I got along with
fine, and I quit.’
With the money from the Space
Shuttle assignment McNally bought
a plane ticket to Northern Ireland.
He explains, ‘Bobby Sands was on a
hunger strike and he died. I was on
the streets of Belfast and I got
“picked up” by Newsweek and Bunte
magazine. I had to swing through
London on my way home and ABC
reached out to me as a freelancer
and said, “Can you photograph
[news anchor] Peter Jennings?” I
went in to photograph Jennings and
literally five minutes later the Pope
was shot. Jennings looked at me and
said, “Do you want to come to
Rome?” and they put him on a
private plane. Jennings took me to
Rome and checked me into the
Cavalieri Hilton on an ABC credit
card. I had 50 bucks in my pocket
and a burnt up credit card.’
McNally adds, ‘Then I was put
back on assignment for
Newsweek and Bunte just forSteve Fairclough speaks to Joe McNally
about his fascinating life as a working
photographer andhis latestbook