About
In 1964, at seventeen, Neill knew that travel and photography would be his life’s work and lifelong passion. He graduated from Guilford College in North Carolina, then served at General Rose Memorial Hospital during the Vietnam War, and embarked on the long climb of mastering the camera and darkroom skills he would need to pursue his dreams. He made a momentous trip west, exploring the spectacular Rocky Mountain range. This turned out to be an introduction to a deeply fascinating subject he would return to throughout his life. The natural beauty of the wild mountains fired his enthusiasm for the next project and returning to the east coast he found a job in Massachusetts crewing on a lobster boat. It paid $20 a week and all the lobster he could eat, and enabled him to document the decline of coastal fishing villages along the northeastern shore.
With his first photo essay under his belt, he moved to Los Angeles. There he studied at the prestigious Art Center College of Design and worked with some of L.A.’s most successful photographers, and then launched his first photography studio in North Hollywood.
Neill’s growing success in his L.A. studio put him in the professional spotlight. He was recruited to join the renowned commercial studio, The Photographers Inc. in Dallas, Texas. There he began a life-long career creating beautiful images for both advertising and editorial projects. He shot for high profile clients such as Neiman Marcus, American Airlines, Harpers Bazaar, Zales and American Express. Before long, he once again launched a studio of his own in the historic “El Sibil” building near downtown Dallas, carrying forward the artistic torch of Frank Reaugh, who had built the studio in 1928 and was among Dallas’ most notable artists. Throughout his successful rise in the industry, Neill always made time to give back, mentoring many creative talents along the way
Neill resisted the temptation to become a workaholic, however. His love of travel and adventure remained a mainspring of his vitality. He somehow found time to hike all of the Collegiate Peaks of Colorado, climb Mount Elbrus in Russia, and ascend to the First Base Camp on Mount Everest. He traveled to Mexico, Chile, Nepal, Prague, Antarctica, raced stock cars, climbed mountains, and was a true outdoorsman who relished sleeping alone on the ground under the stars.
