JAAP KOOLE After graduating from the Royal Military Academy (KMA) in 1985, I met Marja later that same year in Nunspeet, and we got married in 1990. Marja was born in 1964 in Amsterdam, and I was born in 1958 in Dirksland on Goeree-Overflakkee. In terms of background, we differ quite a bit. We quickly discovered a shared love for photography, starting—like most people do—with simple holiday snapshots. Gradually, photography grew into our most important shared hobby. Over the past 10 to 15 years, we have taken part in various workshops, attended a few masterclasses in France, and done a lot of experimenting. We have also bought and sold quite a bit of equipment, discovering that sometimes “one step less” is more than enough! In the Veluwe region, we became involved in horse photography. We are regularly found at eventing venues, capturing the performances of riders and their horses. It’s great fun to do, especially because it makes the riders happy as well. So what’s the story behind the bottle of Scotch whisky in our photo? In 2020, we had planned a trip to Scotland. Unfortunately, the COVID period began, and our plans for our first trip to Scotland fell apart. Instead of a real journey, we embarked on a “virtual trip” through Scotland by exploring several whisky distilleries and their whiskies. It turned into a very enjoyable exploration. Since then, we have already visited beautiful and rugged Scotland twice! Traveling is another shared passion of ours. In 2025, we went on a photography trip to southern Iceland, and in 2026 we hope to visit Norway again. One thing is certain: we are far from finished with photography—and far from done learning. The joy of traveling, taking photographs, meeting people, and making people (especially riders) happy with our photos—it’s a wonderful hobby! We mainly use Sony equipment for our photography.