Who are we?

Thierry Maillet

In my book 'The Participation Generation', I examine the relationships between consumption and citizenship. My interest in the interaction between citizens and companies stems from my background in journalism and then as an entrepreneur.

I divide my time between consultancy (as company director of TMV-H), research (the EHESS institute for social sciences) and teaching (Universidad Carlos III in Madrid). The book "La Génération P: de la société de consommation à la société de la Participation" (Generation P: From Consumer Society to Participation Society) is published by M21 Editions (www.m2editions.com).

I wanted to help develop yourshot.eu because I believe that contemporary artistic photography is a major art form that needs an internet platform to allow people to interact and express themselves.

Valérie Hersleven

I have been a photographer's agent since 1997, working for photographers and clients in Brussels, London and Paris. I have written for Addict magazine and have organised several exhibitions. I have always been drawn to photography and am an amateur photographer myself.

This passion perhaps runs in my family. My great grandfather Jacques Hersleven (1880-1967) was one of the official photographers of the Royal Court of Belgium and his documentary resources have been held at the Royal Institute for the Study and Conservation of Belgium's Artistic Heritage for over 40 years. One of his series was also acquired by the Rodin Museum in Paris in 2004. He was chosen as one of the 150 most important Belgian photographers for an exhibition at Antwerp's FotoMuseum - the catalogue, "Belgische Fotografen (1840-2005)", is still available.

I now want to help bring photography to a wider audience in a high quality format and with as much information available as possible.

Guy Sydor

I have been designing websites for more than ten years and am responsible for the technical development of yourshot. After studying psychology and a period of research as a PhD student at UCL (where I discovered the internet before it reached the general public), I founded my own web design company.

I am also a great devotee of photography and travel. I have a passion for adventure and discovery and love to preserve the memories from my journeys in photographic form.