Beloved Shreveport photographer Neil Johnson dead at 69 after battle with cancer

In a Facebook post by Robert E Trudeau on Saturday, December 23, 2023, confirmed the death of longtime Shreveport photographer Neil Johnson.

“The death of Neil Johnson was announced today by his son, Bradford, who was with him in hospice the past week. Shreveport, if I may say so, has lost a pier and champion. Neil, photographer and artist, was ready to pursue any project that enhanced life in his hometown. The loss of this artist - he was felled by pancreatic cancer - should provoke Shreveport to look again at his gifts and pledge to step up to fill the several spaces that he occupied,” the post read.

On Johnson’s website he describes his 40-year professional photography career in Shreveport and NWLA, “It has been difficult at times for me to distinguish between providing images for commercial clients and my personal joy of simply capturing images that happen to have captured my heart. My personal art and commercial work have long inspired each other in many ways.”

The comments that followed showed the love and admiration the community has for Johnson.

“What a shock. Shreveport has lost one of its finest citizens,” wrote Lynn Walford. “Oh, my heart. This is devastating news,” wrote Ryan Williams.

Johnson wrote several columns for The Shreveport Times and in 2015 he wrote about a trip he was about to take in South Asian, “In Bangladesh, there will be images of suffering and hope, illness and healing, sadness and joy. The question is what will I imagine and how will I act upon it. I am hoping my photographic skills will be useful to both the Morgans (who he went to visit) and to bring some understanding to viewers back in America”.

Johnson was the author and photographer of several books including ‘Shreveport and Bossier City’ and ‘Louisiana Journey’. “Shreveport has lost one of its very best artists and cultural supporters. Neil Johnson's work is literally everywhere. I can remember being inspired by him since my elementary school days where he was featured at Southfield's book fairs and other art expo's,” wrote Grant Nuckolls.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Neil Johnson, Shreveport photographer dead at 69.