What Q1 2026 Clarified for Instinctive Media
- Cowley33
- Apr 8
- 5 min read
Q1 was quieter than some previous periods, but looking back, I think that helped me more than a packed diary would have.
I was not pushing hard on outreach, trying to fill every gap in the calendar, or chasing work just for the sake of feeling busy. That gave me a bit more room to pay attention to something more important, which was whether the direction of Instinctive Media actually felt right.
That was probably the biggest realisation of
the quarter. A full schedule is not
automatically a good schedule. If I am going to build this business in a way that still feels exciting a few years from now, the work needs to give me something more than just filling time. For me, that seems to come back to three things: adventure, collaboration and learning. It does not need all three every time, but it probably needs at least one, and ideally more than one.
The Cairngorms was an early reminder of that. The plan was to head up and capture a winter route in properly harsh conditions with photo, video and drone, but the weather had other ideas. The wind was brutal, visibility was next to nothing, and it very quickly became obvious that it was not the day to push it. So in one sense, the shoot did not happen. But in another sense, it still told me something important. Even in those conditions, I felt very at home being there. Not casual about it, and definitely not equipped enough from a navigation point of view to pretend I should be charging around in a blizzard, but at home in that kind of environment. That stayed with me afterwards. It also made me think more seriously about building that side of myself properly, not just creatively, but in terms of skills, judgement and decision-making too.
The East Riding Stages Rally was probably the clearest moment in Q1 where I felt a proper spark. It was fast, loud, messy, technical and genuinely good fun to shoot. I was moving between stages, taking photos, grabbing video, trying different ideas on the fly, and managing to get some drone footage as well. Being that close to the action, while also trying to think clearly enough to frame things well, made it all feel very alive.
The cars, the sound, the smell, the pace of it, it was one of those shoots where you are fully in it!
It also gave me a new level of respect for the people who shoot that kind of work regularly. You can watch rally coverage, motorsport edits or big outdoor campaigns and appreciate that they look great, but being there yourself makes you realise how much is going on and how hard it is to come away with shots that actually do the moment justice. That was part of what made it so enjoyable. It was a challenge, but it felt like the right sort of challenge.
The other big part of the quarter was people. Q1 felt better when I was collaborating, meeting others, or putting myself in places where shared interest came first. That came through in a few different ways. Working alongside other creatives always seems to sharpen things for me because ideas move faster, you learn things without forcing it, and the whole process feels more natural. The group hike was part of that too. Yes, it was another way of getting outdoors more, but it was also about meeting people, building more of a circle around shared interests, and seeing what happens when you stop trying to do everything in isolation. I love meeting people, working with people and sharing ideas and knowledge, and Q1 reminded me that this matters more to me than I sometimes allow for when I get too locked into my own workload.
Learning sat underneath a lot of the quarter as well. Some of that was formal, like the Ronin 4D masterclass and conversations with people doing the sort of work I admire. Some of it happened on shoots in real time, when conditions were awkward, the light was not helping, or I was trying something I had not really done before. That kind of learning is probably the most useful anyway. It is one thing to like the idea of more
adventurous or more technical work, but it
is another to put yourself in those situations and see what actually holds up.
From a business point of view, Q1 was not really about big headline wins. It was more about seeing the shape of things a bit more clearly. There were still good signs in the background: continued collaboration, recommendations, movement around the website, and a slow sense that the foundations are starting to do what they are supposed to do. Nothing flashy, but enough to feel that things are not standing still. The website has also moved on from the old Instinctive33 domain and now lives at www.instinctive-media.co.uk, which feels like another small but important step in the business becoming more itself.
That is really what I want this update to capture. Not that Q1 was packed with constant output, and not that every idea turned into something finished, but that it helped sharpen what I want Instinctive Media to keep moving towards. I do not want to build a business that is simply busy and technically competent but creatively flat. I want to keep moving towards work that has more life in it. More movement, more atmosphere, more collaboration, more problem-solving, and more of the environments that actually make me want to pick the camera up in the first place.
That matters creatively, but it matters commercially as well. The more clearly I understand the kind of work I do best in, and the sort of projects that genuinely suit how I like to shoot, the better Instinctive Media becomes for clients, collaborators and creative partners too. Better decisions, better energy on the day, and better work at the end of it.
Part of the reason for writing updates like this is also just to leave a record behind. Not in a grand way, just in an honest one. If someone finds Instinctive Media later on, or if I look back at this myself in a few years, I want there to be a trail of what I was thinking about, what I was trying, and what was starting to pull me in a certain direction. If I ever end up shooting bigger motorsport, bigger outdoor work, or projects that demand more of me, I think it would be pretty cool to look back and see some of the early signs sitting here already.
So that is probably the simplest way to describe Q1. It was quieter, but it was useful. It gave me more clarity on the sort of work I want to do, the sort of people I want to work around, and the kind of business I actually want Instinctive Media to become.
FAQ's
What kind of work is Instinctive Media moving towards?
Instinctive Media is moving further towards work that involves more movement, atmosphere, collaboration and problem-solving. That includes more outdoor shoots, more documentary-style projects, and more work around fast-moving environments like motorsport, while still offering video production, photography and drone services across a wider mix of briefs.
Is Instinctive Media still available for commercial client work?
Yes. This update is not about moving away from commercial work. It is about getting clearer on the kind of projects, environments and collaborations that suit the way I work best and help me do stronger work for clients.
Where is Instinctive Media based and where do you work?
Instinctive Media is based between Beverley and Hull and works across East Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the wider UK. I am also open to travelling further afield when the project is the right fit.
Why share a quarterly update like this?
Part of the reason is to leave a clear record of how the business is developing. It gives clients, collaborators and future readers a better sense of what is shaping the direction of Instinctive Media over time.
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