Neal Abbott is a Twin Cities-based photographer and videographer and still has “a hard time referring to myself as an artist,” he said.
“I love the craft. I love the craft of photography, videography, filmmaking,” Abbott told “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley. “Pretty much anything and everything creative.”
As an undergraduate, Abbott took a couple of documentary filmmaking courses. In one of
the class brainstorming sessions, Abbott said a thought struck him: “What better story is there than the story of Christ and his Church?”
Though he entered the seminary, Abbott said “the Lord worked pretty quickly in my heart and showed me that was not where I was being called.”
During that time, he was able to work on photography projects for the seminary.
“And so, it was like the Lord was prompting me even in the seminary: ‘This is what you’re called to, Neal.’”
He served in youth ministry for six years all while working on creative projects.
“It got to a point there after five or six years where I had a backlog of projects that I was working on, on the side, and it just was like, ‘All right, Lord, this is where you’re leading me.’ And so, I took that leap of faith to pursue creative work full time.”
While working as a freelancer, a position at St. Agnes in St. Paul became available and Abbott transitioned to full-time marketing work for the parish.
Abbott said seeing “the way the Lord is active in the (St. Agnes) community … is so powerful to witness. And I get to witness it through the lenses of my cameras.”
“I have to every day start by just thanking the Lord for the opportunity to see how he’s working and how I can help tell the stories that I witness every day.”
To see Abbott’s work, visit his website.
To hear more about Abbott’s creative process as a Catholic, listen to “Practicing Catholic” when it airs at 9 p.m. Feb. 2 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, or when it repeats at 1 p.m. Feb. 3 and 2 p.m. Feb. 4.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes a discussion with Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun about Lent in the Maronite Church, and Pam McSweeney of St. John the Baptist School in Savage who talks about Catholic Schools Week and the importance of faith in the classroom.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
