january 2007 - Professional Photographer Magazine

from there, and today, McNally is a wellknown
name in photography, shooting for a
range of high-profile clients.
McNally considers the world to be his
studio. He shoots all digital, unless a client
requests otherwise, and admits that his
favorite piece of gear is the tattered plush
bunny head his 3-year-old daughter stuffed
into his camera bag for luck 18 years ago.
“It’s the most important thing in my camera
bag,” he says. Based in Westport, Conn.,
McNally rents studio space in New York
when he needs to, but does most shooting
on location, from main street U.S.A. to farflung
Siberia. Always, he says, “I’ve loved
being out in the world, enjoying the people.”
One of McNally’s favorite locations is
Russia, where he’s traveled many times on
assignment, covering a variety of subjects,
from the Russian space program and the
Bolshoi ballet, to the affects of the war in
Chechnya on the light at the Artic Circle.
“It’s an amazing place, and I feel privileged
to be sent there to photograph and record it
all,” says McNally. “I have a tremendous
amount of respect for the Russian people.”
For the National Geographic feature
“Power of Light,” McNally studied the effects
of the seasonal lack of sunlight in the Arctic