Long before the camera, painters were the storytellers of light, shadow, and emotion. As photography evolved, it inherited much from the world of painting — from composition and color theory to the power of observation. In this post, I explore how the traditions of painting continue to shape modern photography, and how artists like Emile Claus — whose luminous works I grew up surrounded by — subtly influenced my way of seeing. This is a personal reflection on how two mediums, often seen as separate, are deeply intertwined.