TITLE: Inside Romania

At first glance, these appear to be ordinary photos of ordinary people, going about their daily business at home in the Romanian countryside around the Carpathian Mountains However, all of these photos were taken in traditional Romanian houses, which can still be seen in the landscape. The history of those traditional houses is inextricably linked to that of its residents. This was the place where they were starting a family of their own, where there was constant activity, laughter, crying and also fear, as Romanian history knew harsh times. Like their residents, these homes bear the marks of time — a time that is slowly disappearing. The traditional houses are about to be abandoned, and like their last residents, they will take their stories with them...

AUTHOR: Ilona Schong (Netherlands)

My name is Ilona Schong and I am a photographer based in Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands. Originally I was trained and graduated as a lawyer from Leiden University, and I spent a significant amount of time working as a lawyer in administrative, energy, and construction law. Whether it was in my father's darkroom during my childhood, or the piles of photos I took during holidays and our children's early years: I always loved to photograph. Since eight years, I have started to approach photography more seriously. I specialized myself in landscape photography, but recently I have been starting to broaden my horizon, as I'm deeply interested in cultures and the story behind a persons life. In my downtime from photography, I enjoy being with our children and planning international trips.