Spending his childhood in the arboretum of Szarvas and the influence of his botanist father both played a role in András Balla’s decision to enrol in the landscape design programme of the University of Horticulture. He graduated from there with his first degree in 1970, which was later followed by his architectural studies. Thanks to his photos he has taken since the 1970s, he now has one of the most multi-faceted and diverse photographic oeuvres in Hungary.