When it comes to photography, there is a seemingly endless archive of photos from all kinds of eras and places, and it only keeps expanding and growing as time goes on. However, as we all know, older photos are becoming harder to come by. That’s why when this photographer came across an old vintage camera, he was thrilled, to say the least.
Not Just A Job
Martijn Van Oers is a self-taught Dutch photographer for whom photography isn’t just a way to make a living or a weekend hobby, it is basically his whole life. For Martijn, photography is a form of expression, hard work, and a way to share his narrative.
Not Just A Job
What Did He Find?
By the light of the red bulb, this man held his breath and started to unwind the reel. He knew that it only takes a single wrong move to ruin the negatives. His hands were shaking as he shook the tank.
What Did He Find?
The Spooky Outline
At the moment, there was nothing to do but wait. When it was time, he unspooled the reel once more. Not once did he expect the faint outline that left him trembling from head to toe.
The Spooky Outline
An Obsession
Dutch photographer Martijn van Oers had been infatuated with the art of photography since he was a young boy. In particular, he felt drawn to old photographs. He was fond of those that came with a sinister or eerie undercurrent.
An Obsession
A Worried Mother
He could not have asked for a better gift when he got his very first camera during his 12th birthday. However, his mother worried about him. Was she right to feel that way about her son?
A Worried Mother
His Morbid Pastime
Martijn was not like other kids his age. He did not like to spend time with his friends or participate in activities that would be considered normal. Instead, he preferred to be alone.
His Morbid Pastime
Quite The Loner
He would wander the streets of Breda, explore abandoned places, and photograph the old buildings he stumbled upon. His mother was concerned because he only grew more obsessed with macabre things over the years.
Quite The Loner
His Talent
He uses Instagram to express himself, and his posts reflect his raw talent. There’s no denying how talented this man is. He tries to capture the emotion in his photos and he is always looking for new picture-taking opportunities.
His Talent
A Dark Side
By the time he hit his teenage years, the walls in Martijn’s room were full of photographs he collected. From top to bottom, the photographs filled up the entire wall space. However, these were not “happy-snaps” as his own mother once said…
A Dark Side
Thrift Store Frequenter
Instead, they were snaps of the darker side of their town. He took some of them himself, although he found a number of the photographs in thrift stores. When he stumbled into an old camera in an antique shop later in life, he could not help but buy it.
Thrift Store Frequenter
One Sunny Day
It was an average day when he took a walk around the streets of Breda, capturing some new snapshots. While strolling through town, he found himself in an antique store that grabbed his attention.
A Sunny Day
Lured In
This took place one fateful morning in 2017. Martijn had been taking a stroll through town when his feet took him to a thrift store nearby. He was never one to miss out on the chance to get his hands on vintage photos.
Lured In
A Quick Peek
He was short on time, however, so he told himself he would only take a quick look inside the store. He did not find anything particularly interesting as he scanned the shelves… until one thing caught his eye.
A Quick Peek
The Antique Camera
On the lowest shelf, he found a vintage camera! However, it was not any old camera – it happened to be a Zeiss Ikon 520/2. After taking a closer look at it, he felt surprised to find that it was in great condition.
The Antique Camera
Jackpot
The camera was designed by Dr. August Nagel and produced by the German company Zeiss Ikon. The 520/2 is a unique piece that uses a 120 roll film and classic Tessar lens. Any photographer would be in heaven upon something of this standing, especially someone like Martijn.
Jackpot
Lucky Find
It did not look like it was a used camera at all. He knew just how lucky he was to have found it. It was going to be a sweet gift for his wife! However, he didn’t know that he was bringing home more than an antique camera…
Lucky Find
A Gift For Her
“When I came home and gave the camera to my wife as a gift, she was over the moon. After dinner I told her I was considering using the camera to take pictures with since all the mechanics seemed to be in pristine condition,” he explained in one interview.
A Gift For Her
A Life-Changing Moment
“I normally shoot all my photos with high-end gear. So working with an old-school piece of equipment seemed like a lot of fun.” Martijn had no idea that he found something that would change his life as he knew it…
A Life-Changing Moment
Something Hiding Inside
Excited by the treasure he found, Martijn started to look at the inner workings of the antique camera. When he opened the gadget, he found something quite surprising inside.
Something Hiding Inside
An Undeveloped Roll
“I wanted to see if the camera still worked if everything opened and if the wheels were still turning. To my great surprise, there was a roll…” Even though he was surprised by this, he had no idea it was going to have a huge impact on him.
An Undeveloped Roll
Making A Decision
It was not lost on him that this could very well be the beginning of a true horror story! Was he going to regret getting these photos developed? He knew that there was no turning back once he processed the images.
Making A Decision
Couldn’t Pass It Up
However, was he really going to pass up the chance to see through the previous owner’s eyes? Martijn made up his mind to figure out the secrets of this old camera no matter what.
Couldn’t Pass It Up
Couldn’t Pass It Up
The vintage camera meant the pictures on the roll — if there were any at all — were extremely tricky to develop but he had to try. So, he called up his friend Johan to help with the process.
Couldn’t Pass It Up
Back In Time
He eventually discovered that the camera was built around 1929, meaning that the film was probably produced sometime between the 1940s and the 1970s. This was not going to be an easy task, but he did not give up yet.
Back In Time
Let’s Get To Work
Johan invited Martijn over to his house to begin the developing process in his kitchen. This endeavor would take a long time, but both men knew if it yielded satisfactory results then it was worth every bit of effort.
Let’s Get To Work
Gut Instinct
They had no sense of what was on the film before beginning this process. If they exposed the film to the light it would have ruined any chance of developing the photos. Instead, they had to trust themselves and hope for the best, which is exactly what they did.
Gut Instinct
Never Ending Wait
This process was draining. The wait was excruciating and they couldn’t bear the anticipation any longer. Martijn even grabbed a blow dryer to try and speed up the process.
Never Ending Wait
Fritz “The Wolf-Man Of Hanover” Haarmann
You already know that he had been obsessed with the macabre ever since he was young. It was only natural that he knew the story of Fritz Haarmann, who terrorized the residents of Hanover in the ‘20s.
Fritz “The Wolf Man Of Hanover” Haarmann
The Missing Camera
From 1918 to 1924, a total of 27 kids and teens went missing. He read the personal journals of this man and knew he had a camera, something rare and pricey back then. However, the camera went missing.
The Missing Camera
A Chilling Possibility
Could this be what Martijn stumbled upon in the antique shop? This was not out of the question since Hanover was not that far away. It was quite a terrifying thought, to say the least.
A Chilling Possibility
What Would He Do?
The photos could be horrific if that was the case. Knowing that it might belong to The Wolf-Man Of Hanover, was he going to develop the roll? Only time would tell…
What Would He Do?
Thinking It Through
Martijn had to think long and hard before he could arrive at a decision. Should he turn the camera into the authorities? Should he develop them first before he got ahead of himself? Could he be overreacting?
Thinking It Through
Mystery Awaits
In the end, there was no way to find out but to develop the roll of film and see for himself. Since Martijn is quite the go-getter and is especially interested in mysterious things, what he did next only makes sense.
Mystery Awaits
The Used Film
He took another careful look at the roll of film. The word “EXPOSE” was emblazoned on the side. “I thought that probably meant that the roll has been exposed and used,” Martijn said. He knew this was an old camera.
The Used Film
The Used Film
There was no way to figure out the age of the film. He started to do his homework by researching the film and when it was made. When he found the date, he got goosebumps all over.
The Used Film
A Relic Of History
“I found out the camera was built around 1924,” he said. This would mean that the camera was about 89 years old! Considering the age of the film, it was unlikely that any of the photos survived all those years. What a shame!
A Relic Of History
Bad News
However, Martijn knew it was still worth a shot so he contacted his friend Johan Hollerman, a photographic developer. Unfortunately, after speaking with Johan, Martijn was met with some pretty bad news.
Bad News
Not Very Likely
His friend told him that it was going to be hard to develop such an old film, although Johan ultimately agreed to give it a shot after Martijn persuaded. Clearly, he was also intrigued by the mystery waiting to be uncovered here. Did the images survive all those decades? The only thing to do was to develop them.
Not Very Likely
Giving Them Hope
Since the roll of film could not be opened or exposed to sunlight, Johan and Martijn could not see if there were images to salvage right away. They were determined to find out, however, which is how the two of them ended up in Johan’s dark kitchen on a Tuesday morning.
Giving Them Hope
All Coming Together
When they finished developing the film, they were astonished to see the faint outlines on the photo negatives. Their concern now was what they would find on the very old images.
It’s All Coming Together
A Pandora’s Box
Martijn put the negatives in the shower to dry and then started to dry them using a blow dryer to see if the images stayed intact. They already opened this Pandora’s box, so there was no way they could close it now. The only thing to do was to wait and see. When they were dry, it was time for the next step.
A Pandora’s Box
Making History
Luckily for Martijn, it was all worth the risk! He got supremely lucky, and the blowdryer did not do any damage to the quality of the images. As they were processing the film, the images were becoming more and more clear. History was starting to play out right in front of them.
Making History
The Photos
After the negatives were fully dry, the men got a projector to look at the photographs. They had a total of four images in their hands. They were blurry, but they still found what the photographer managed to capture in the past.
The Photos
A Ghost From The Past
They found a woman looking back at them, just like a ghost from the past. In the photo, she was positioned right beside a pathway along a mountainside. The two men were completely intrigued.
A Ghost From The Past
Intrigued
The next photographs were pretty similar to the first one. The same woman was photographed standing in the foreground as well. But just who was she? What was the story behind the old photographs they found?
Intrigued
Searching For Answers
The men were excited and let their curiosity get the better of them. They needed to get the answers to their questions. The fourth and last photo gave them some answers to these questions.
Searching For Answers
A Man This Time
The fourth photograph featured an elderly man instead. When it was taken, he was carrying the camera case over his shoulder. They concluded that this was the person who took the photographs of the woman.
A Man This Time
More And More Questions
In the end, the incredible discovery only gave them more questions! They wanted to know when and where the photos were taken. It was a good thing Martijn came up with a brilliant suggestion.
More And More Questions
Looking For Answers
Martijn was determined to know where these pictures were taken. Turning to Facebook for help, Martijn shared the photos, and surprisingly, one of his friends reached out with an interesting photo…
Looking For Answers
How Far Would They Go?
Perhaps this friend was out there to give him the answers to his questions that he needed. This would help them solve the mystery a little. However, how far was he willing to go to piece everything together?
How Far Would They Go?
The Location
The man who got in touch with him after seeing the post told Martijn that he knew where these photos were taken. He even sent Martijn an address to look up on Google Street View.
The Location
A Bit Of Familiarity
Martijn recognized the spot from the photos and was convinced this was where the pictures were taken. However, he was totally unprepared for the next sequence of events.
A Bit Of Familiarity
Somewhere In France
It was somewhere in Biarritz, France. When Martijn took a closer look, he knew that it must be the same spot. Then another person reached out to him, but this person’s information was even more compelling…
Somewhere In France
Going Viral
Martijn was over the moon with how fortunate he’d been, first in finding the camera, then in finding the film roll, and finally in developing the images. “Looking at the images, I feel I stumbled across a small treasure-chest — or time capsule — giving us a tiny glimpse into the past,” Martijn mused.
Going Viral
Solving The Puzzle
A Dutch woman by the name of Marion Jurrjens saw the people in the photos and recognized who they were! The people photographed were none other than her grandparents! What are the odds?!
Solving The Puzzle
A Man Named Theo
Apparently, the original owner of the camera was a man called Theo Lammers. She knew he went to Biarritz with Elisabeth Lammers-Berveling, his wife. When Martijn heard about this, he knew just what to do.
A Man Named Theo
Confirming The Owner
Marion told Martijn about how her grandfather had come into possession of the camera in the first place, explaining that it was actually a part of his work. Her grandfather worked as an architect and used the then-expensive equipment for his job. Although it was extremely valuable and expensive, he brought it along with all family outings.
Confirming The Owner
The Netherlands To Canada
Marion was born in the Netherlands, although she currently lived in Canada. Martijn was aware that it was going to take some money to come there to personally hand her the long-lost photos, but he still wanted to try.
The Netherlands To Canada
Fundraising
This is the reason he created a GoFundMe fundraiser to cover the travel costs from Europe to North America. Soon enough, donations started to pour in from different parts of the globe!
Fundraising
Making Connections
Marion was confused about how the camera even got out of her family’s possession, knowing that her grandfather was a meticulous archivist, and her aunt Thea was a bit of a collector. Regardless, she was excited at the possibility of adding the photographs to her collection of prized family memories.
Screenshot 10
Returning The Camera
After discovering the grandchild of the camera’s original owner, Martijn and Marion kept in contact. Martijn wanted to hand the photos and camera over to the descendant of their original owner, only after such an emotional journey, he decided he wanted to do it in person.
Returning The Camera
Off To Canada
Martijn then hopped on a plane to Canada to give Marion and her family the photographs of her grandparents. She was thrilled when he finally got there to do just that.
Off To Canada
Piecing It All Together
“I love all of the pictures, and I would like to keep them all together as that is how they are meant to be,” Marion explained during an interview. “My house is already rather full since my grandfather was also a painter. But I hope I can find a spot to put them on the wall so I can remember this whole event.”
Piecing It All Together
Full Circle
Wow! How amazing for both photographer Martijn and for granddaughter Marion. We bet Martijn was glad to solve the story of the mysterious photographs, and Marion must have been thrilled to receive photographs of her beloved grandparents. What an amazing end to quite a remarkable story.
Full Circle
The Story Comes To A Close
Martijn was amazed that he had was able to find Marion Jerrjens and bring her these remarkable photographs. The story of the thrift store camera had an unexpected, yet happy ending. Martijn promised to never walk past a thrift store without checking what could be waiting inside.
The Story Comes To A Close
His Pride And Joy
If you’re interested you can see more of Van Oers work on his Instagram page, where frequently updates. He uses this platform to express his talent with the world. He has some stunning images!
His Pride And Joy