Anton Rijsdijk

Anton Rijsdijk has been working as a hydrogeologist and photographer in developing countries for many years. He studied photography at the Fotovakschool in 1985. After working for years for local clients and stock photo agencies, he has recently published his own work. In 2014, his book *On the Rocks* was published—a photo essay about shipwrecks on deserted beaches around the world (Yellow & Finch, 2014). A book on South African shipwrecks and an exhibition at the Iziko Maritime Center in Cape Town (South Africa) are in the works.

His collection is the result of 30 years of photography. Anton began this work in 1985 when he lived next to a ship graveyard in Aden (Yemen). He went on to photograph World War II wrecks in Indonesia and the many stranded ships along the coasts of Southern Africa. This was followed by the coasts of Egypt, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Brittany, Suriname, and southern Chile. Most of the ships were washed ashore after a storm; a few were torpedoed during World War II; and others were simply abandoned on the beach or in the harbor.