Ilse Bekker is born and raised in Zeddam and her great love for photography already started in her childhood. A love that was anchored in her heart, a heart she must follow. Her love for distant countries, other cultures, and the individual, in particular, taught her to look at the world differently.

For more than 22 years Ilse Bekker has been professionally engaged in the photography and she has proven herself through her work in portrait and business photography. Several awards passed the way and in November 2015, Ilse was rewarded with her Silver Master by the Dutch association MPN.

In November 2016, she got her qualification from the European association FEP as Qualified European Photographer which means she belongs to the top of Europe.

On her journey,  Ilse Bekker became fascinated by old, empty, abandoned factories/buildings. Especially the way nature plays her game and slowly takes back what was once built by mankind. Incredible shapes and the enormous range coloring that are created by time show that the elements of nature started their game already for a long time. In a fabulous and magical way, the building discloses its story of a long forgotten vibrant existence as well as that there is no other way than to give herself back to the forces of nature.

The structures of the building and the things that are left behind change in an intriguing way, making the whole scene into an object of art. Ilse Bekker feels a tremendous desire to capture this feeling and to save it for the future, the memory of forgotten times.

This undertaking is not without risk.  The places are abandoned, entering is often illegal and there is always the danger of collapse. None of these can keep Ilse Bekker from searching for these places and capturing that one image that tells the story. Once she is inside she is in her element, examining the place, searching for that one shot in which the building discloses just a few of its many secrets.