LA-based photographer Neal Preston has been taking photographs most of his life and his extensive collection covers some of music’s greatest moments and personalities. Over the past four decades, Neal has made a significant contribution to the pop culture history of multiple generations. His archive stands as one of the music industry’s single most elite (and extensive) photographic collections.
His love of photography began in his early teens. As Neal explains: “Some kids get behind the wheel of a car at 14 or 15 and know instinctively what the clutch does, what the brakes do. When I got my first camera, I knew what to do”. On photographing Queen, Neal says, “I spent a lot of time on the road with Queen, and Freddie was, without question, a photographer’s dream subject.”
One of Neal’s best known photographs is of Freddie Mercury at London’s Wembley Stadium. “Sometimes, you just get it right and everything falls into place perfectly. I recently looked over the original proof sheet and realised that this was the third frame I’d shot that day. I could have taken the rest of the day off.” – Neal Preston
