Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Neil became interested in photography the first time he saw a camera. While studying chemistry in college, he met photojournalist Bernie Kolemberg, who opened his eyes to the possibility of actually making a living with this wonderful conundrum of light and time. Shortly after, writer Bill Kennedy, who had become somewhat of a mentor, convinced him that it was quite acceptable to follow one's heart. So Neil quit school, began photographing, and has been chasing his heart around the world ever since. He is deeply grateful to both Bernie and Bill.

Having lived and worked in New York, Tangiers, Paris, and Amsterdam, Neil recently moved to Seattle after 10 years in London, where he had produced advertising, corporate, and product photography, as well as working extensively on the series of Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides. In 1998 he was awarded a fellowship by the Digswell Arts Trust, spending two years on personal work, including a photographic study of the town of Stevenage under a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain.

His prints are included in corporate, private, and museum collections both in the U.S. and abroad.