MAN BUYS A CAMERA WITH A ROLL OF FILMS FROM A THRIFT STORE ONLY TO EMBARK UPON A STRANGE JOURNEY LATER

 

A man went inside a thrift store and bought a vintage camera for his wife. He was planning on giving a surprise to her but little did he know that life was about to surprise him. He took the camera home and opened it up only to see a roll of films. So, the old camera was not empty, it had a roll of films. The curiosity piqued and he decided to develop them into photos. He along with his friend managed to develop pictures out of it. There was no end to their astonishment when they saw the pictures. Life had given them a mission now.

The Beginning

Sometimes the real treasure and mysteries lie in thrift stores. Martijn van Oers who had a hobby of looking for unique stuff in thrift store came across something bizarre. He, as usual, was looking for interesting stuff in a Dutch thrift store when a vintage camera caught his attention.

Photography

The man loved photography too and so fell in love with that camera in first sight only. He picked it up only to find something more amazing inside it. The camera looked perfectly fine. And he was expecting a high price for it but that was not the case here.    

Opened It

He without thinking twice took the camera home. It was in his home he opened the camera to see if it had anything inside it. To his surprise, there was indeed something hiding inside it. There was an archaic roll of film. Little did Oers know that an ordinary discovery by him was going to pave way for a journey that he would have never anticipated.      

Just Click It

As mentioned earlier Martijn van Oers was fond of photography. He is one of those people who believes the best way to cherish a moment is to relive it by capturing it in a picture. He loved clicking pictures of nature, people and things. But the man had no idea that his life was going to take a complete turn not because of pictures clicked by him but by someone else. What was so special in that roll of film? 

Zeiss Ikon 520/2

On further examination, he realized that it was an original Zeiss Ikon 520/2. Well, the man’s ecstasy knew no bound when the truth dawned upon him. It was difficult to digest the fact that the camera that happened to be original Zeiss Ikon 520/2  was lying unnoticed for a long time in a thrift store. Moreover, the appearance of the camera conveyed that it had not been used much.  

Old Camera

Its extraordinary and antiquated folding medium-format camera. This type of camera was very popular in those times. It took in 120 roll films in use. The camera is equipped with a classic Tessar lens.

In A Thrift Store

He found out that the camera was made in 1929. Clearly, the camera was very old. Oers wondered how it found its way to this thrift store? He said, “I found out the camera was built around 1929 and the film was produced between the 40’s and the 70’s.”

A Gift

That particular day he was looking for something special for his wife. And he knew that the only store where he could find something extraordinary was a thrift store. He had made the right decision. Sometimes, thrift stores hide a different world. 

Pristine Condition

He said, “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 from the camera seemed to be in pristine condition.”

Fun…Fun…Fun

Furthermore, the camera was a big change for him as it was a different model. He added, “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.”

EXPOSÉ

Just like the camera itself, the film was quite old. Interestingly, it had the word “EXPOSÉ” written on it. What did that mean was something they were yet to find out. But the investigation was not going to take them long to know what was there in it.

Wheels Were Turning

Van Oers shared the information about the roll to the NOS or Dutch Broadcast Foundation in 2017. He explained, “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.”

Used

But what confounded him the most was the word exposé written on it. What could it mean? He continued, “I thought that probably meant that the roll has been exposed and used.” But the camera seemed barely used. 

Between Decades

It required van Oers some research work to find out the date of origin. “I found out the camera was built around 1929 and the film was produced between the 1940s and the 1970s.” Well, he wanted to develop film out of the roll which seemed very difficult now. 

Help From Friend

Even though it was a very difficult task, he did not give up. He asked his pal Johan Holleman to assist him in this venture. His friend Johan is well versed in the art of photo developing. However, developing photo out of this roll was going to be tricky for him too. However, his friend was more than ready to take up this challenge.     

One Afternoon

It remained fixed in van Oers’ mind. He had an aim and he had to achieve it no matter what come may. On a Tuesday afternoon, he visited Holleman’s place. Holleman had finally succeeded in cracking the pictures. A big smile came on the face of Oers when he noticed the outline of the picture that was faint for now as the process of development was still on.

Requires Efforts

As mentioned earlier, developing film is not an easy task especially, if it is about an old film. van Oers put it, the work “requires knowledge, timing, patience, and accuracy.” Even though the process was on, waiting for the whole picture to the surface was really painstaking. They were growing impatient to see the pictures.

Hustle

Van Oers aptly described the process, “That was difficult, I am extremely impatient. In the end, I even convinced [Holleman] to dry the roll with a hairdryer. That is actually very dangerous, but I had to have those things under the scanner. Fortunately, it had no impact on quality.”

Mission Possible

In a few weeks, some of the images became very clear. Hollerman and van Oers had finally succeeded in accomplishing their mission. They had found a piece of history that would have remained in dark had they not decided to bring to the light. But what those pictures were about?  

Developed It

They finally had those images with them. They had successfully developed four photographs. Hollerman and van Oers waited for the pictures to dry and once the images had become ready to use, they saw it. No need to say images were black and white. 

Enjoying Holidays

In the image, there was a couple enjoying their holidays. Clearly, the picture was taken many years ago. A new adventure was awaiting van Oers.  

Magical Process

The process is the most significant part of the photo developing. This is why they call it “magical process.” van Oers said, “We scanned the negatives and found four images had enough detail in them to tell that the last time this camera was used. It belonged to a man – who’s even in one of the pictures, carrying the camera’s case – who probably brought his expensive piece of gear on one of his travels.”

The Pictures

One of those pictures featured a woman standing beside the ocean. And to her left is a bridge and water running under it. And there is also a stonewall along with a boulevard along with it on which several people were walking. Many of them were enjoying the beach and its view.    

Same Woman

He flipped around another picture that also featured the same woman moving on a steep promenade. In the third picture, the woman is seen on a beach whereas the fourth one showed a man sitting on a wall. The man was holding a camera case that hung off his shoulder. 

The Details

He told bored panda “We scanned the negatives and found four images had enough detail in them to tell that the last time this camera was used, it belonged to a man (who’s even in one of the pictures, carrying the camera’s case) who probably brought his expensive piece of gear on one of his travels.”

Proceeding Further

The processing of the photos was done. Now the man had taken up a new challenge. “We tried to estimate when the picture was taken, but that is a bit of a wet job. Based on the clothing and the scene, it must have been somewhere in the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s,” said van Oers.   

Special!!!

The man had understood by now that the image he had found was special. Though he had the picture, he was still had no idea about the owner. It was then he had decided to take the help of technology. He shared the pictures with his friends on Facebook. Soon the images got popular among his followers. 

Search Begins

He said, “It really makes me want to find out who the people in the pictures are. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to hand over these negatives to the descendants of this mystery photographer.”

An Information

One of those people who saw the images was Wilco who gave the photographer some vital information about the image. He was an acquaintance of Oers. His friend told him that the location shown in the image is of Biarritz, a city in south-west France.      

Shared The Image

Wilco could not have been wrong in his assumption as he had visited the city a number of times. In order to confirm he even shared a Google Streetview image with van Oers. After seeing the image, the photographer got convinced that these pictures were indeed captured in Biarritz.

First Done

Oers did not take long to find out about the technology. The first barrier of the mission as achieved. Surprisingly, it took him only half an hour to figure out the location. Oers said, “We thought it would take a lot of effort to find out the location. But that was done in half an hour.   

Treasure-Chest

It was nothing short of a treasure hunt for van Oers. The photographer said, “Looking at the images, I feel I stumbled across a small treasure-chest – or time capsule – giving us a tiny glimpse into the past. It really makes me want to find out who the people in the pictures are.”

Who Owns This

No need to say that van Oers was very excited about searching the owner of these photographs but the doubts were still on. As the pictures were many decades old what if the owner would have died already.

Mystery Photographer

However, he hoped that he would be able to find the owners. “Hopefully, one day, I will be able to hand over these negatives to the descendants of this mystery photographer.”

Contacting Photographer

It seemed that even destiny wanted him to get to the owners. A few days after sharing the pictures on Facebook, a person named Marion Jurrjens reached the photographer. The woman happened to be a relative of the photo’s owner. She is the granddaughter of the person in pictures. She went on to say that these pictures were taken when the man took his better half and daughter on a tour to Biarritz.     

Still Unsure

The man was still not sure whether the woman was speaking the truth or not. He opened up, “After I had developed the photographs my one wish was to find the descendants of the people in the pictures and send them the negatives and camera. Three days after the story went viral, I got a message from [Jurrjens].”

While Reading Newspaper

Jurrjens too turned out to be a Dutch. However, she had relocated to Canada in 2004. The woman came across these pictures while reading a Dutch newspaper. the woman was all surprised when she saw the pictures of her grandfather Theo J. Lammers, grandmother Elisabeth Lammers-Berveling, and aunt Thea Lammers. She immediately contacted van Oers.  

Man In Picture

Photographer van Oers sort of had already deducted that the camera was of the man in the picture. He was absolutely right. The camera was indeed of Lammers, Jurrjens’ grandfather. He was an architect by profession and had to use photography instruments in his work. One point to note here is that camera in those days were an expensive deal. Despite that, he brought the camera with himself on vacation to capture the moments. 

Surprised Jurrjens

It was a big surprise for Jurrjens too who had not expected that she would find these pictures of her family from a stranger. She explained, “When I saw the pictures in the paper I felt that it was really special that the pictures were of them.” Though she was happy that she got these pictures she still wondered how these pictures went out of their house.   

Recognizing Him

Jurrjens opened up, “I began to wonder how the camera came to the thrift shop as my aunt was a hoarder and normally refused to get rid of things. When [she] died in 2003 I emptied her apartment and collected 10 photo albums that belonged to my grandparents and took them to Canada with me. So I instantly recognized them.”

Collection Of Pictures

On being asked what kind of person her grandfather was she started speaking very highly of him. She called him an achiever. She further stated, “My grandfather was also meticulous in everything and wrote the date and place in white ink on the photo itself. Himself, my grandma and auntie traveled extensively and documented all their travels, so I have plenty of pictures of them.”

Happy And Amazed

Jurrjens just like her grandfather never missed out on making and saving memories and this is why she was extremely happy when she learned about the discovery of these pictures. She said, “I love all of the pictures and I would like to keep them all together as that is how they are meant to be. 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.”

Making Bigger

Jurrjens added these newly found photos to her collection of pictures that she had inherited from her grandparents. She had their portraits and also many photographs featuring them. In those pictures too they were enjoying themselves in a picnic around a highway in 1954. Pictures given by van Oers was definitely going to make her collection even more beautiful. 

In Person

Jurrjens and van Oers stayed in touch. Moreover, van Oers instead of sending the camera and its content to her through mail decided to give it to her in person. Oers explained, “We started to chat on a daily basis. I am hoping that one day I will be able to fly over to her to deliver the negatives and camera myself.”

Inside A Camera

He further stated, “I was so shocked that we had developed a film that’s been untouched inside a camera for decades. And we have been able to find pictures of people on them and then be able to find the descendants. It’s an indescribable feeling.”

Impressed And Inspired

This is indeed an incident to remember. The photographer had never imagined that one day he would face a situation of this sort. He is very impressed and inspired by the images he had discovered. He continued, “I have had large prints made of the images and they’re definitely going to go up on a wall in my house.”

Thrift Store

Many things had changed for him. He had well understood the value of some of the things from the thrift store held. He explained, “I will be sure to check the inside of any vintage camera I come across from now on. If I find one that’s holding a film, I’ll definitely buy it.”

Flying To Her

He made a crowdfunding page only to collect money to fulfill the expenses of his journey. Finally, in August 2017, he announced that he is going to fly to the woman’s city to give her pictures. He said, “So in September I travel to Canada to hand over Marion the camera!” 

She Doesn’t Know

So what is the reaction of her wife on all of it? Well, he is yet to break the news to her. He wonders how would she take it as she too loved the camera as much as he did. He told, “I’m not sure how she’ll react when I tell her I’m giving away her present.” That is indeed going to be a surprise for her. 

Conclusion

Have you come across something like this in your life? Well, not all of us get this opportunity. This story restores our faith in humanity. The man could have kept those pics with himself but he chose to return it to its rightful owner.