A few months before this job came up I had been discussing with Times Educational Supplement picture editor Joe Vel who I wanted to shoot for the long running “My Best Teacher” slot in the features section of the paper.

Many of the top ten were comedians and Vic Reeves was right at the top of that list. When Joe called me to say that we were featuring Vic Reeves, he was as pleased as I was and so the appointment was made.

What we didn’t know was that it was removals day at the house and that the reporter would be very late doing the telephone interview and so when I arrived I had to explain the concept behind the piece.

Vic was a complete pro and gave me as much time as the circumstances allowed and even helped carry a sling bag down to the bottom of the garden which was the only place where there weren’t removal men doing their job.

It’s an exciting time to be a photographer with new challenges being presented every month and I am on record as saying that I am a very lucky man to be doing what I do.

Neil started his photographic career after studying Advertising and Editorial Photography at Medway College of Design in Kent (now the Kent Institute), and qualified from there in 1986, whereupon he moved to London.

After a short period as a freelance, Neil joined with two friends from college to start a photographic agency in London which lead to a variety of assignments for various newspapers and magazines.

Neil’s big break came in January 1994 when he joined as a staff photographer on what is now TSL Education.

In 1998 after many years’ experience shooting film and transparency film, Neil took delivery of his first digital camera, and has pioneered quality and best practice in digital workflow ever since (see his website www.dg28.com).

Photographer since 1986, founder member of EPUK, 1999.