I always had a great love for Historic ships. Initially studied for mechanical engineer I worked on a few Amsterdam shipyards amongst others. Later I found more pleasure in photography and after a 4 year part-time study for photographer I opened my own photo studio in Baarn , a lovely town near Amsterdam. There my partner and I had great success with all types of photography. In the late 90's we migrated to Australia where we owned a huge rural property . Surrounded by splendid sub tropical nature we had a humble but rewarding live, we performed our arts and did 'meet' our selves. It was there where I designed the Batavia book in a little shed , printed and bound it. That was way before the on-demand printing industry took off. It gave me the opportunity to learn yet another couple of trades: Graphic design , printing , book binding, web design... . Maybe I should change my name to Jack ( of all trades ). I look forward to my next book to make !