5 Questions for Sol Neelman
SOL NEELMAN is a failed athlete turned sports photographer living in his home city of Portland, Oregon. A journalism graduate from the University of Oregon, he began his professional career in 1996 photographing former Yugoslavia for a humanitarian organization. In 1997, he joined a community paper in McMinnville, Oregon as a staff photographer. Three years there led to seven years of service at The (Portland) Oregonian. In 2007, he was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team of journalists recognized for Breaking News Reporting. He left his staff position that summer to pursue a lifelong photo project on sports culture around the world.
His pursuit of turning his personal passion into his life's work, endless love of travel and appreciation for all people and things new, different and weird -- as well as the desire to make everything fun -- makes Sol one of my favorite people in the world. He also encourages that in others, which I love and appreciate.
He can be found: on the WEB | on Instagram | on his blog | on Twitter.
1. Can you talk a little about your trajectory, and carving out a niche for yourself in photography?
I love sports, travel, photography and weird shit. And sharing fun experiences with friends. Took me awhile to figure that out, but thankfully I did. I never really thought about trying to carve out a niche, only trying to photograph things I cared about. You do something long enough, you get known for that. My obsession with weird sports has been going on for more than 8 years. Crazy, huh?
I realize now, though, that I could have started carving out this direction much earlier while I was still a newspaper staffer. And I did a little bit towards the end, but not nearly enough. I was stupid and too self-absorbed, distracted with office politics and not keeping my eye on the real prize.
If I could tell a younger me a piece of advice, it'd be to take advantage of that staff job - and salary with benefits - and photograph what you're passionate about, regardless if it runs anywhere. You're making a living as a photographer. Take advantage of that. Who really cares if your editors put your passion project in the paper? Or if your images wins an award? Work you're passionate about will never mean more to someone else. How could it?
I've noticed that many of my friends and colleagues that leave newspapers, whether by their choosing or not, look lost because they were relying on papers to define them and their direction. And I was the exact same way. Looking back, I feel that my 10 years at newspapers were really my graduate studies, to prepare me for when I became freelance and needed to discover my own voice.
Again, it took me awhile and it was scary as shit, but I do feel very lucky to have discovered this weird path. I'd be lost without it.
2. How do you pay the bills and sustain your momentum/lifestyle/creativity shooting Weird Sports?
Yeah, I have no idea. Seriously.
I have some corporate clients, do some advertising work, shoot random editorial assignments as well as the occasional wedding. Since my first book was published, I do make some revenue from relicensing weird sports images to publications, but that's a small slice of the pie.
In the beginning, I regularly pitched weird sports events to magazines, almost always getting shot down. I decided I didn't need their permission to shoot what I wanted to do. So I use the money I make from my other jobs to pay my expenses. It would be nice if weird sports could be self-sustaining or (gasp) profitable. While I'm not financially rich, I'm rich in life experiences. And that matters more to me.
3. How do you define evolution at this point in your career? And how do you continue to evolve in your own shooting? What’s next?
That's a good question. I've been staring at my work so much, I can't pretend to say I feel like I'm evolving. And my approach is pretty much consistent.
For better or worse, I think evolution for me right now involves finding more revenue streams to make this a viable career in my near and distant future. And/or find a rich wife/patron of the arts. (If you know anyone, you got my email addy.)
As for what's next, I'm preparing a Kickstarter campaign for Weird Sports 2, which will likely go to press this summer. After that, who knows? Weird Sports 3? Weird Sports 17?
4. What’s on your bucket list? Is there any place you haven’t been yet, or anything you haven’t shot?
I'd LOVE to go to Australia and New Zealand for a spell and photograph some of their weirdness. Cuba would be nice, too.
As for specific weird sports, Tazer Ball and Slamball are at the top of my wish list for 2014. There's also a swim race with blowup sex dolls in Mother Russia that's screaming for photos. (SCREAMING!)
5. Who or what inspires you?
When I started out, phenomenal newspaper photographers like Scott Strazzante and Rob Finch rocked my little world. Their ability to capture feeling in their images stood out to me from the norm of newspaper photojournalism.
Since I left papers, I find myself really drawn to any photographer that photographs something that is intimately personal to them. Usually means there's no money or notoriety, and it's often quite lonely work. But that drive to document a project that fills their soul, that's beautiful and inspiring. Danny Wilcox Frazier's work in his home state of Iowa literally takes my breath away. Chris Capozziello photographs his twin brother with cerebral palsy and Annie Flanagan photographs her best friend's PTSD from an abusive relationship. I recently met Diana Markosian, who photographed her estranged father back in Armenia. She hadn't seen him since she was seven. Those aren't easy projects. But it's hard to think of one more important.
Of course, you continue to inspire me, Melissa. You're the greatest champion of photography I know. On top of that, all my photo friends outside of the Pacific Northwest were introduced to me via you/APAD/Geekfest. And let's not forget that I unknowingly started Weird Sports immediately following the inspirational Geekfest Austin in 2005.
I couldn't be prouder or more thankful to be your friend.
