CASE 018: The Man behind the camera
CASE 018: THE MAN BEHIND THE CAMERA
CASE 018: THE MAN BEHIND THE CAMERA
5:28 AM EST - Hey Dad! How’s it going? You make it to Asia okay?
4:29 PM UTC - Got to Jakarta! Hopping on a flight to Lombok in 2 hours - say hi to everyone for me! I’ll call you when I get there!
Open my WhatsApp and the above is what you will typically find. Me trying to keep tabs on where in the world my dad is. Him trying to keep tabs on what’s going on back home. Despite the thousands of miles in distance, it’s our form of improvised togetherness.
In our 18th case study, I’m going to do a little something different. With the game we all love at the heart of it, I’d like to take a moment to talk about The Man Behind The Camera - My father. A fashion photographer by trade and a football fanatic by heart, I’d have to credit everything I love about the world of football to him, the one and only Roger Neve. He’s racked up more miles on a plane than anyone I know, he has a heart of gold, and he will stop at nothing to say hello to every stranger he meets.
On a recent work trip to Lombok, an island in the West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, I asked him to snap some photos if he saw anything football-related. In his one-week trip to the other side of the world, working 16+ hour days, he did what he has always done. He went out of his way for me. He made friends. He captured moments of magic to bring back home.
My father always says, “if something is really good, you share it with a friend.” That’s why we are here. If you are reading one of our case studies, you are probably a friend (or my mom - thanks, mom, love ya).
I hope you spend a moment with these photos. I find them enthralling. Not just because of their rich visual content, but because of their ability to transport you to a moment in time, thousands of miles away.
On one side of the lens, I see community. I see friendship. I see competition, and ritual, and fun, and play, and a cow. I candidly don’t know what to make of the cow, but I love it.
On the other side, behind the camera; I see a man who loves humanity. I see a man who believes in the best of us. I see a man who has touched every continent our planet has to offer, been briefly kidnapped by Tamil fighters in Sri Lanka during their civil war, found himself stranded during the Colombian Palace Justice Siege of 1985 in Bogatá, held at gunpoint during a guerrilla/army conflict in Guatemala, and still believes in the good in each and every one of us. As a matter of fact, he would probably say all of the above are a part of his top 10 favorite places in the world.
When my father sent me these photos from Indonesia, I was taken aback. Not because this work is out of the ordinary for him, but because I came to the realization that he has always chosen football as a means of sharing his inherent compassion and positivity with me.
When he sent me these images, he left a few comments about his experience in taking them at a local match.
“It’s a social event for all. For kids, for women, for everyone. Pure entertainment, like going to a movie on a Saturday night with friends. It was about togetherness.”
Wherever this case finds you, I hope it has brought a little light into your day. Because when I look at these photos and the man behind the camera, it really does remind me of the beauty in togetherness - no matter where in the world we may be.
With love,
Max Neve
Founder, Studio 14 Case Studies
Writer’s note: When I sent this piece to my father for a review, he made sure to note three things.
“Since you and your brother were born, I have calculated my actions to be a bit more on the safe side for sure.”
“The situations you reference were often because of my own stupid mistakes to break a curfew because I wanted to snap photos.”
“You write me up a little too nice - because I can be a total asshole ;) but I am honored.”
