- April 19, 2024
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World-class photographer Anthony Neste will speak 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, at Wadsworth Elementary.
With a model, makeup artist and documentary crew by his side, photographer Anthony Neste wandered the Nevada desert last month, looking for a place to set up a photo shoot. He photographed the whole shoot using battery-powered studio lights from Multiblitz, a German professional lighting manufacturer that was filming him for a promotional video.
But the crossover between video and stills is not new for Neste, who started his career in video, as a production assistant.
He got his first taste of still photography when he volunteered to shoot for a producer in Detroit, simply because he was the only one on crew that owned a still camera. From there, he was hooked.
“I love the wow factor,” Neste said, “something that makes you think — images that are not a glance, they’re more of a stare.”
Neste broke into the professional world of photography in the late 1970s when SPORT magazine offered him work on a speculative basis. If he shot something they liked, they printed it. If not, they didn’t.
His work leaned toward the “like” side, and eventually, the magazine hired him.
In 1980, Sports Illustrated had just hired LIFE magazine photographer John Dominis as director of photography and was eager for new faces. Neste got a meeting and from there, snagged his first assignment at a South Carolina college football game.
He worked for Sports Illustrated through the 1980s and into the ’90s, until he moved to Flagler County in 1995.
The NFL added a new team to the league that year, and Neste got a job as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ team photographer.
Before his move, in the late ’80s, HBO approached Neste about photographing boxing for its promotional materials. From there, it led to Wimbledon, “Inside the NFL” and concerts. Neste even worked with “The Sopranos” as the TV show’s photographer.
“It’s ironic that it made kind of a circle,” Neste said. “I wanted to start my career in the movies, and after all those years I found myself back on a movie set.”
Now, Neste has launched his second career, in editorial and fashion photography, to which he was introduced by his daughter, who now runs a modeling agency in New York.
He works with swimsuit designers, advertising agencies and models who need portfolio shots. “It tends to lean more to the sexy side,” Neste said,“because that’s what they want. In advertising, that’s what sells. (The) images have to impact today’s market.”
But 31 years later, the work Neste did in the sports world is still receiving recognition. Last summer, a photograph from his first assignment at Sports Illustrated was used as the cover for a special issue featuring college football’s unforgettable games.
Next week, Neste will share his passion for photography as part of the Flagler County Art League’s Celebrate the Arts Week. Neste will speak 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, at Wadsworth Elementary School. It’s open to the public, and it’s free.
“I want to focus not on the how-to — it’s more what’s inside the picture that attracts you to an image,” Neste said.
A successful picture has three elements, he added. First, although it changes with every image, composition is key. From there comes content and a technical aspect.
“Not only mine but any good creative image lets you see beyond the obvious,” Neste said. “I think that’s what young photographers need to do.”
