°1953 Mol (Belgium)

Already at the age of 14, gie Knaeps went to the SISA photography school in Antwerp and later went to the St. Joost Academy in Breda.

As a 16 year old, gie often hitchhiked to concerts and festivals in Belgium, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, etc. His first publications were in 1968 in Hitweek/Aloha (Dutch underground magazine).

He gained fame as a freelance photographer for Humo, Panorama and many other magazines, specializing in concert photography and portraits. For 30 years, gie Knaeps was a house photographer for the Belgian magazine HUMO. At the time HUMO was the largest and most influential Belgian magazine selling more than 200,000 copies a week, gie was the only photographer covering all festivals (including Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop and Pinkpop) and concerts.

Mostly photographed on stage but in addition, gie organized many portrait sessions with artists, often on his own initiative. Hundreds of musicians from home and abroad passed before his lens and his photos ended up in all kinds of books such as Humo-Rock 'n Rollgids, Twenty years Torhout/Werchter, Pukkelpop 25, A century of pop music, Belga Cult.

All together: 40 years of rock photography from 1970 to 2010.