Snap-happy Neil focuses on the bright side of life

City Lives – Bernie Ni Fhlatharta meets award-winning photographer Neil Warner

Award-winning photographer Neil Warner always knew he what he wanted to do and he cut short his post-primary education to get started on what has been a lifelong career.

His father Harry, who founded the boy scouts and the ASTI in Galway was a teacher in the Bish and was not too happy when Neil told him of his wish to leave school.

He told Neil he could end his formal education prematurely only on the condition that he was doing so to embark on a career.

Neil got his way and started supplying local newspapers with photographs when he was in his teens. He never regretted that decision, as cameras and photography has been a lifelong passion.

That passion was rewarded last week in New York where his dedication to photography was recognised by the International Photography Council (IPC), a division of the United Nations, with a Leadership Medal.

He is the third ever European to receive the award and it is particularly special to Neil because it not only recognises his own photography, but also his leadership and dedication to the profession.

“I just devour technology and my interest in the way cameras and taking photographs and filming has progressed has led to me making presentations all over the world. I was also President of the of The Federation of European Photographers (FEP), an organisation which represents the interests of over 50,000 European professional photographers practising in 26 countries throughout Europe, back in 2007 and am currently the Vice President.

His fellowships are too long to list and it’s impressive that he can juggle so many commitments as these often require his presence at meetings at locations all over the world.

“It has led the development of professional advancement within the field of photography through the establishment of various initiatives and I have spearheaded projects including the European Photographer of the Year competition, the European Fine Art Image of the Year and the Emerging Talent Awards.”

So while Neil has, like other commercial photographers, shot weddings and portraits, his own interest in architecture, structures and technology led him into corporate work. That work brought him all over the world.

He worked for a stint in this newspaper but his first real job (at £4 a week) was with The Galway Advertiser where he learned all about print.

However, he soon realised he needed to be a free spirit, to do his own thing. He was already spending his weekends photographing landscapes, sometimes from the air, such as the Aran Islands and gradually he fell into working for himself and set up his own business in 1972.

As much as he loves working for himself, he admits that like a lot of people, he too was hit by the recession in the mid-eighties and ran out of cash. That meant scaling down the business. He had a staff of five based at his home in Menlo. But instead of wallowing in misery Neil used the downtime to finish a Masters in photography (corporate architecture). He was the 13th in Europe to finish it and the first in that particular speciality. This in turn led to him publishing a book called Buildings for Business.

He also has a diploma in digital marketing, which he says has been his salvation during a four-decade career, as it meant he could and always has diversified when work slowed down.

Recession struck again, in 2008 when one phone call lost him about 60% of his work with the collapse of a major development company, for which he took photographs for all its brochures.

Neil tells this with a smile on his face because his resolve never seems to evaporate so that when one thing fails, he moves on to something else, which appears to suit his curious and adventurous personality.