Beatrice Spates

Beatrice Spates is a Belgian-American photographer living in Brussels. Captivated by the beauty and diversity of the world, she has travelled to a variety of destinations - from Armenia to Zambia - to experience many sublime moments. She has awakened at 3700 m altitude after camping overnight on the flanks of a dormant volcano, 3 km away from an active volcano, to witness the mist rising at dawn from myriad layers of sleepy blue-hued valleys in Guatemala. She has watched in awe as a critically endangered black rhino ambles to a waterhole at dusk in Namibia, alternating between the waterhole visits of hyenas and elephants. She has contemplated the splendour of a solitary sentinel tree that stands between sky, snow-capped Swiss mountains, and water. She continues to travel to destinations known and unknown.

She is also fascinated by indigenous peoples, and interested in architecture, street art, flora and fauna, amongst other subjects. She has a passion for photographing remarkable trees around the world - from the oldest tree in Bhutan to Botswana’s bulbous baobabs to the living root bridges of Cheerapunji, India or the majestic millenial cedars of Lebanon.

Beatrice has a background in International Relations, communication, lobbying, humanitarian work (Handicap International Belgium; Democracy Never No Comment; Actions Birmanie; Belgium for Ukraine - BEforUA; The Belgian Boys Choir - Les Petits Chanteurs de Belgique) and other associations. She is a founding Associate of the flower farm Les Enfants d’Emile in Buissenal, Belgium, and she also paints in both acrylic and oil