WOUTER KURSTEN In the summer of 2021, I decided to buy a Lumix micro 4/3rd camera to see if it was a hobby I’d enjoy. Initially, it was just an excuse to escape my desk that I use as a Software Quality Automation engineer and regularly spend a few hours at Dierenrijk in Nuenen (I still refuse to call it Eindhoven Zoo). While they don't seem to be related, photography has something very similar to my day job: it requires a lot of creativity. After and during a basic photography course I kept searching for creative outlets, I discovered an ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) workshop at a place called the Dragonstudio in Tilburg in January 2024. Workshops on lensball and "trash" photography followed later that year, and honestly, it feels like coming home. That autumn, I started an advanced course, but I found the structure a bit too static compared to the creative freedom I found at Dragonstudio. I decided to pivot, joining Ki for the "A to M" course in 2025, and later that same year, the "N to P" course. Since that very first trip to Tilburg, I’ve stayed busy volunteering at the Fotofair, attending and assisting at various masterclasses and workshops. Every year, I make a point to visit either Ypres or Verdun—two of the primary battlefields of the First World War. In the past, visiting these sites was a goal in itself; today, they have become a way to discover beautiful and impressive locations. If you have never stood under the Menin Gate for The Last Post or visited the Douaumont Ossuary, I highly recommend you to do so. Near Verdun, the villages détruits (destroyed villages) remain some of the most moving places I have ever visited and photographed.