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Neill Watson

Writer, Photographer, Self Publisher, Digital Strategist

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Cobwebs

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

Each morning I take a walk. Whether I think there’s anything to see or not, I take a walk. Because there’s always something. It’s just that we aren’t looking most of the time. Take this morning. It’s foggy. The moist warm air passing over the cooler surface, became over saturated. I know this because I am studying for my met exam. So when I wake, look outside, the visibility is just a few metres, it’s pretty dense. So I know there’s no sunrise to marvel at this morning. It’s at that … [Read more...] about Cobwebs

Filed Under: Photo Blog Tagged With: iphone

How Do We Save the World and Still Love Our Lifestyles?

By Neill Watson 1 Comment

I've written before about how I genuinely believe that we have all of the tools that we need to fix the problems that we have as humans on this planet. We can do this with small environmental lifestyle changes. You may not think so, indeed I know that many people are despairing right now. Some feeling frustrated. Others are feeling helpless. There may even be a tiny twinge of guilt every time you fuel up your car. Or you may be simply saying "screw it, there's nothing I can do, lets make the … [Read more...] about How Do We Save the World and Still Love Our Lifestyles?

Filed Under: Neill's Journal

Should You Work For Free to Get a Portfolio? 12 Years later…..

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

Tortoiseshell Cat missing in Yarm

This seems to be an eternal question for people starting out in a creative career. The whole issue of "Should I work for free to establish a portfolio?' And if you're just starting out getting a body of work that shows your style, ability and talent can be very hard thing to achieve. As well as becoming know, you also need to pay the bills. And you know that deep down, while the gig is cool, you really should be getting paid. It's a tough one. NOTE - Before you read any further, let me … [Read more...] about Should You Work For Free to Get a Portfolio? 12 Years later…..

Filed Under: Neill on Writing, Photography

Porsche 964 Anniversary – With added turbo

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

This is the one I wish I could have kept. The left hand drive Porsche 964 Anniversary in beautiful Viola. With the California turbocharger engineered by Ninemeister. Yes, that's right. A turbocharged 964 Anniversary. And a bit of a mean one too. Sadly, back then I was working as a car dealer. And it was a car. So it was for sale and indeed sold, like all the other interesting cars I have been fortunate enough to be trusted with the keys to through that period. However I have the happiest of … [Read more...] about Porsche 964 Anniversary – With added turbo

Filed Under: #Porsche

What Made me Buy a Leica? And will I keep it?

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

I'm not normally a camera geek. I buy a camera and it's a business decision, it works hard for it's keep. I only ever replace it when it's either worn out or something significantly better comes along that justifies the expense. And I hardly ever write about my cameras, so whilst this isn't a Leica CL review, it's something significant for me. In March, I'm digging deep into the reviews for the Leica CL. I'm reading the forums - that's something I never do, forums full of people with names … [Read more...] about What Made me Buy a Leica? And will I keep it?

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: leica

Landcruiser Restoration – The Initial Diagnosis

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

"Some cars want to live. Others just don't want to come back to life. This one wants to live." These are the wise words of John as we stand watching the Landcruiser gently ticking over. And it hasn't take much to get her running again. In fact, a fresh set of points and condenser, some fresh petrol in the tank and a set of strong jumper cables and a little persuasion from John was all it took. Literally. It didn't quite start first time, however with some glugs of neat fuel down the throat of … [Read more...] about Landcruiser Restoration – The Initial Diagnosis

Filed Under: Landcruiser Restoration

Landcruiser FJ62 Restoration – The Project

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

As I write this, I'm finally about to start a rare project for me. My old Landcruiser 60 Series Landcruiser restoration. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm NOT a mechanical guy and while I can drive a bit and I'm pretty good at diagnosing car issues and setup, I'm no bodyshop expert or mechanic. However, I'm looking at the sad state of my Landcruiser and I figure of Project FJ62 Landcruiser 60 Series Restoration doesn't start pretty soon, it will be a lost cause. Here's the Back Story … [Read more...] about Landcruiser FJ62 Restoration – The Project

Filed Under: Landcruiser Restoration

iPhone Panoramic Mode and a Late Summer Sunrise

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

Long after it's begun to grow colder in the UK, the Charente - now Aquitaine - area of France continues to enjoy warm sunny mornings through September and into October. This was shot on my iPhone in panoramic mode as I was enjoying that first coffee of the day, barefoot in the garden and watching the sunrise. Of course, anyone who's covered basic science at school will know that 'sunrise' is actually incorrect. The sun isn't rising, we are spinning towards it at around 1,000 miles per … [Read more...] about iPhone Panoramic Mode and a Late Summer Sunrise

Filed Under: Photo Blog

Artificial Scarcity and Why It Sucks in Selling

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

If you spend any time at all online you will have seen this tactic used to motivate people into action. The email signup or free training course signup box that says "Sign up now while registration is open." The human trigger that you could miss out. It's called FOMO - Fear of Missing Out. Too often, it's artificial. It's the concept that something is a limited edition or has scarcity and that you had better not miss out. Now, as a marketing tactic FOMO can work very well. However, the Fear … [Read more...] about Artificial Scarcity and Why It Sucks in Selling

Filed Under: Digital Marketing

The state of the collectable Porsche marketplace in 2020

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

Back in 2011 I wrote a blog post about the Porsche 996 Turbo, how I thought it was undervalued at the time and also how I figured that it would never really be collectable. A lot has changed in the Porsche 911 marketplace since then and indeed that article has been updated twice now. It has attracted much interest, so in response to various direct contacts and comments on that blog post, I've been asked for my views in the current state of the Porsche 911 marketplace. This could get messy, so … [Read more...] about The state of the collectable Porsche marketplace in 2020

Filed Under: #Porsche

Do You Really Need a Website Any More? Here’s Why You Need a Website More Than Ever

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

I had an interesting conversation recently with a friend of mine. He’s a professional sportsman and working hard at developing a brand. We were chatting about some of the promotional things that had succeeded for him over the last twelve months plus, as ever, the things that didn't work. Including the website, creating content, copy writing and relative lack of progress in those areas. Like many people early on in the task of personal brand building, he is working hard on social media … [Read more...] about Do You Really Need a Website Any More? Here’s Why You Need a Website More Than Ever

Filed Under: Digital Marketing

A Chance LA Conversation

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

It's 2015, I'm sitting in the reception area of the Holiday Inn at Hawthorn, a district of Los Angeles. It's around 8 weeks after the Paris terror attacks and having seen how the American TV news media are still wringing every once of value from that story in that exaggerated USA News Anchor style, I'm beginning to get my head around the American TV networks. CNN just love the fact that they have a Paris correspondent and think that it's the coolest thing. Fox News say that it's all Barack … [Read more...] about A Chance LA Conversation

Filed Under: Neill's Journal, Stories

The ABC of Optimism. How You Can Use it Right Now By Making it ABCDE

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

Are you struggling a little right now? It’s OK to admit that you’re not OK. That’s actually a good start. Knowing that there’s something wrong can be hard to spot as we push on through the challenges of our daily lives. However, that isn’t going to solve anything other than acknowledging that something needs to change for your own well being. What practical steps can you take to overcome those feelings of panic, anxiety? How do you overcome the feeling of not being in control over what’s … [Read more...] about The ABC of Optimism. How You Can Use it Right Now By Making it ABCDE

Filed Under: Personal Development

Video Conferencing Tips – What Do You Look Like?

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams are the new conference rooms. If you’re not used to this and you are working from home, then it pays to prepare a little for the fact that you are sort of inviting your work colleagues into your home environment, especially if you don’t have your own study or personal office space to work from.  In this new world of COVID 19 communications we are now finding ourselves in, more and more of us are meeting via video link. Setting up your laptop or mobile … [Read more...] about Video Conferencing Tips – What Do You Look Like?

Filed Under: Neill's Journal

Want to Write? Start Reading More

By Neill Watson Leave a Comment

This follows on from my article on starting out as a writer. If you haven't read it yet, it's probably worth reading that first. For many of us, reading can actually be the hard part. It takes a little discipline in our busy lives to choose something to read and then actually sit down and read it. The distraction of TV, family life, that social media feed of pinging notifications can all eat into your day and then, before you know it, the day is gone and you’re reaching over to flick out the … [Read more...] about Want to Write? Start Reading More

Filed Under: Neill on Writing, Writing 101

There’s More to This Than Toilet Roll

By Neill Watson 3 Comments

Thank you to everyone who responded about my article on working from home. If you missed it, you can read it here. One thing that shone through in your replies to my email newsletter was that there are a lot of concerned people out there. Not because of the actual Coronavirus itself. The concern is more about the indefinite nature of how long this will last. And also a wider concern about the dark underbelly of society we have seen. Crazy isn’t it? And mystifying too. Of all the things I can … [Read more...] about There’s More to This Than Toilet Roll

Filed Under: Neill's Journal

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About Neill

I am a writer, photographer, self publisher and digital marketing strategist. My work is seen regularly in editorial areas and also working with brands through the father and son team that is Winward Media.

Today, I’m realising that people want to learn more about how to live a more creative life. And also how to deal with the many stresses of our digital lives. I know I do.

My love of the internal combustion engine is tempered by the knowledge that the future doesn’t involve it.

The future is exciting.

Useful Resources

  • Ten Essential Tools I Can’t Live Without In Content Creation and One Reason Why They Won’t Help
  • Starting Out – Should You Work For Free?
  • The Top Five Factors I Use When Deciding on an Interesting Feature to Chase
  • Ten Multi-skills Everyone Needs in Today’s Content Creation World
  • How to Generate Unguessable Passwords and Never Forget Them
  • Professional Photography Pricing Guidelines

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