Born in 1978, Neil grew up with photography; his parents are both professional photographers in their own right, and the family business is a photographic retail shop. Whilst there are numerous portrait studios all over the country with talented resident photographers, there are very few photographic product retail premises which have their own resident landscape photographer.
(Photograph By K Watkins 2010)
Neil became involved with the family business from an early age, an involvement that continued throughout his studies for his GCSEs. Gaining three A Levels in Computing, Design Technology and Art, Neil went on to gain a University Degree in Product Design in 2000. It is only after this that events took a dramatic change for Neil quite unexpectedly…
Neil took a shop camera out onto the Gower Peninsula to test it a after it had been repaired. Neil did an experiment, producing a stitched panorama of the Helvetia Wreck on Rhossilli Beach. A print was made and simply by chance was seen by a customer in the shop who wished to purchase one. Interest flared in Neil’s photography and he started taking more landscape images on the Gower.
After a suggestion by a friend, Neil submitted a panel of work to the BIPP (British Institute Of Professional Photography), in an attempt to gain a Licentiateship qualification. Neil's panel recieved a very positive reaction, with critical acclaim from the panel of judges. Later this year Neil was awarded a free place on a photographic trip to Tunisia with Fuji Film, for having the best Licentiateship Panel of 2002. On a final note for 2002, Neil entered some images into the IPA International Photographic Awards, gaining A Silver and Bronze award.
2003 saw a busy start to the year for Neil, as he was commissioned to photograph a number of Churches in the South of England, which were to be presented to The Bishop of Bath and Wells later in the year. Increasing the size of his portfolio all the time, Neil kept momentum up by re-entering the International Photographic Awards and winning Five High Commendation Awards for his submissions. In addition, Neil also went straight on to achieve his Associateship level qualification with the British Institute Of Professional Photography, with a submission of twenty images from all over Wales. 2003 also saw the production of Neil's first ever Calendar for 2004.
2004 was a very special year for Neil as he had been encouraged to attempt gaining a Qualified European Photographer (QEP) qualification with the Federation Of European Photographers (FEP). On his initial attempt Neil unfortunately did not quite reach the standard, but remaining focused, he went back to the drawing board and re-submitted a second panel eight months later. This time he flew through and won a unanimous pass from each of the judges present. The QEP award is one which has been achieved by less than forty UK based photographers, and only 170 Worldwide. Finally, 2004 saw production of his second calendar for 2005.
In late January, Neil saw his "Morte d'Arthur" Exhibition come to life, in a four day event held at The King Arthur Hotel in Reynoldston on the Gower Peninsula. This event was a great success, with many people travelling from as far as London to view it. If you didn't see it don't worry, as there is a dedicated section of this site containing the project storyboards. Following this event, Neil spent much of 2005 visiting different sites to photograph around Wales, although a brief trip was made to New York City in April, after he won a competition with Fuji Film following a retailer promotion. As you would imagine, Neil took many images on his trip, some of which are featured on this site, and which were also entered into the 2005 International Awards, where he picked up another three high commendation awards for his submissions.
2006 was a quieter year for Neil as he concentrated on capturing more images to add to his growing collection. With the panoramic size being the most popular, Neil concentrated his efforts on that particular format, creating some new images that can be seen on this site. During 2006 Neil also moved in a different direction with his photography, producing a number of square format pictures in full blown colour.
With his local popularity increasing, Neil was approached to re-commence teaching Photography again after a short initial spell in 2004. Neil also started work on his first publication in 2007, which was aimed to be a pictorial journey of his highly successful 'Morte d'Arthur' project. In October of this year, Neil had a prominent feature in 'Artists & Illustrators' Magazine, which gave a background to his unique style and working methods.
February 2008 saw the completion of Neil's first publication. The book was titled 'King Arthur's Last Command' and contains the entire exhibition from 2004/2005, which is a visual representation of the poem 'Morte d'Arthur' by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Still increasing in popularity, Neil's classes increased almost two fold during 2008. In addition, Neil gained a number of commissions requiring travelling to Scotland for a few days over the summer period.
2009 Was another busy year for Neil. Popularity with his Photography classes increased, and a number of commissions were carried out involving architecture and building interiors. There were a number of contacts made as a result of his popular book 'Morte d'Arthur' which was published in 2008. Indivuduals from all over Wales, England, Europe and as far as America contacted Neil for more information about the project, after being captivated by the pictorial journey depicted in the publication.
Although early into the new year, Neil has been involved in a number of photographic commissions, including theatrical photography and more architectural work.
