Christophe Van Biesen arrived in Luxembourg in 2008 and started taking photos in the capital which got attention on social media and local tourism agencies. 

His first book, “Luxembourg City Through the Seasons”, was released in summer 2019, in a small enough format so visitors could easily transport it as a souvenir. A personal touch can be added along with his signature: “I had somebody from a Chinese bank who bought a few of them for colleagues leaving Luxembourg, and she wanted a personalised message in each of them.” 

Some of Christophe Van Biesen's products and tools of the trade 

While he has a range of prints, postcards and acrylic glass blocks with his images ready for sale, Van Biesen has also been commissioned to take photos of locations which hold significant meaning for others. “Recently I got an interesting request from a person with a particular painting of a view, they wanted the same view in a photo.” His calendars can also be tailormade for businesses--with, for example, the addition of a logo, message or mission statement. 

Van Biesen also runs small photography workshops--in the Mullerthal and Hallerbos, Belgium’s bluebell forest, to name a couple--which start “excruciatingly early”, around 5am, to get the “golden hour” of good light. 

Not everyone likes the early start, but Van Biesen says sunrise and sunset are his favourite times to snap photos. “The sky blows up with pink or orange or red, and then you get those really special moments and pictures that stand out.”

Favourite personalised gift 

We turned the question around on Van Biesen to find out more about his own favourite personalised gift he has ever received.

“A long time ago, I received a gift from my mother for my 18th birthday,” he says. “It was a photo collage of pictures from the first 18 years of my life which she had framed. Some of the photos were a bit embarrassing, but it was the most unique thing I got.”

This article first appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of Delano.