EXPLOSIVE PHYSICAL RESPONSE
Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer whose prolific career includes assignments in nearly 70 countries. McNally is known worldwide as not only one of the top, technically excellent photographers of his generation, but his charming demeanor, confidence, and humor make him a sought-after choice from CEOs to celebrities to commercial and magazine clients alike.
He is among the rare breed of photographer who has bridged the world between photojournalism and advertising, amassing an impressive commercial and advertising client list including FedEx, Sony, ESPN, Adidas, Land's End, General Electric, Epson, MetLife, USAA, New York Stock Exchange, Lehman Brothers, PNC Bank, and the Beijing Cultural Commission. McNally is equally comfortable climbing buildings or lighting a telescope to capturing quiet, sensitive subject matter with confidence in medical surroundings. He has shot numerous cover stories and highly complex features for National Geographic, LIFE, and Sports Illustrated, where his research skills and unmatched preparedness were highly valued.
Allan Kliger: Hello, Joe. Great to have an interview with you about your fabulous work and specifically your work on photographing athletes. So, please feel free to mention the subject you would most want to be asked and seen written up in a magazine with a worldwide distribution.
Let's start with your Athletes series featured in this article.
Joe McNally: Well, I have photographed sports, you know, off and on, certainly throughout my whole career.
I actually had a contract with Sports Illustrated; I think my first job for them was 1983 or '84.
A. K.: How did you first get a job with them? How did they first learn about you?
J. McNally: They approached me because I had started to shoot for what used to be the Time Inc group of magazines, a cluster of very famous titles and powerful magazines. I was producing covers for a variety of magazines in the early '80s in New York, and I guess I came to the attention of Sports Illustrated. The very first job I ever shot for them was – he was a legendary athlete, a Heisman Trophy winner when he was at Auburn University. And that went extremely well.
