Joel Tjintjelaar is a black and white photographer and educator who teaches workshops on black and white and fine art photography around the world. Born in Jakarta and moved to the Netherlands as a young boy, Joel calls the world his home, not so much the country he lives in. Having aspired for the more artistic professions like architecture, music and writing from an early age, Joel ended up studying Criminal law and working in the IT for many years to make a living. This, however, could never suppress his needs for creative expression, and photography was his preferred way of meeting those needs. For Joel photography didn’t stop with just clicking the shutter. That was just a necessary part of an approach to photography and art that also encompasses a specific way of black and white post processing in the digital darkroom. He developed his own signature method of post processing that has been adopted by many of his students and followers around the world, to not only create beauty but also communicate emotions. His love for writing is reflected in the many tutorials and essays he wrote on photography and how art can be created with that medium.