ALBERT VAN DER WIEL 29-12-1957 Photography has been a hobby of mine since my student days. In the early 1980s I purchased a (analogue) Pentax ME. Working with this camera marked the starting point for discovering the exposure triangle, playing with light, and thinking about composition. After my student years, I photographed less. It may sound cliché, but a time-consuming career as a chartered accountant and later as a consultant, combined with raising a daughter, shifted my priorities. In 2012, together with Peter Amesz, I took up the hobby more seriously. By then, my camera had become an Olympus SLR, packed with (too) many technical possibilities. This was reason enough to take a series of courses at SKVR with Peter. The courses were taught by great Rotterdam-based photographers, and I learned something valuable from each of their perspectives. I still use the slide frame whenever I doubt a composition, and white gloves are always necessary when viewing photographs. Henk Pasman introduced me to the secrets of studio lighting. Studio photography—with all the possibilities it offers to create atmosphere yourself—remains my favorite genre. Ultimately, this preference led me to Ki Tan, his studio, and his workshops. Curiosity and a desire to learn are essential qualities for a photographer, because the best or most beautiful photograph has yet to be taken. That is why I regularly go out photographing with friends. The conviviality, the shared meal, and the conversations at the end of the day add extra dimensions to photography. My travel buddies are always by my side. They experience their own adventures during our trips, while I capture our shared experiences. Experiences become stories, and stories are worth capturing and telling later.