#25. An Antique Store
Martijn van Oers stepped foot into an antique store one afternoon, not knowing it was going to change his life! He was looking for an interesting piece that he could surprise his wife with. As he was looking on the shelves, something caught his attention. It was an old camera and he knew that he had to buy it no matter what. Little did he know that his purchase would be the beginning of an adventure!
#24. Strolling on the Streets of Breda
The man is a dedicated photographer, and he chose to wander the streets of his hometown Breda and snap as many photos as he could. Looking at his photographs, you can see he’s a professional. His Instagram account contains many photos that show his skill and talent. Martijn is always looking for interesting subjects to add to his ever-growing portfolio. And when he found the camera, he would make headlines around the world with his discovery!
#23. A Great Day Ahead
Martijn took advantage of the great weather to walk around Breda and capture some impressive shots. As he was walking around town, he saw an antique store. If he was not going to buy anything, he could at least ask the manager to take a photo or two of the most interesting artifacts that were displayed in the store. Then, he saw the camera…
#22. Vintage Photos and Relics of the Past
The photographer knew that the antique store must have had some interesting items from the past. He hoped he’d stumble upon some vintage photographs, but it was an old camera that drew his attention! On a shelf, he saw nothing less than an original Zeiss Ikon 520/2 camera! It was in great condition and didn’t even look like it had been used at all. Martijn decided it would be a perfect project for that day, so he bought it.
#21. Toying Around With the Vintage Zeiss
“I recently purchased an original Zeiss Ikon 520/2, a folding medium-format vintage camera,” said Martijn in his article that he posted on Bored Panda. As he got home and have his wife the camera as a gift, he said she was over the moon. Then, after dinner, Martijn decided to take a look at it. That’s when he realized that the camera came with a film roll!
#20. The Camera Was Still Working
“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,” Martijn revealed in a later interview. He had no idea he was in for a treat.
#19. It Started As a Fun Time
“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,” said Martijn. As he opened the camera to take a look at its insides, he realized a film roll was still inside. Was it from the previous owner?
#18. There Was a Film 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...” Martijn had no idea his life will take him to some new places - both traveling back in time and abroad!
#16. “EXPOSÉ”
He said that as he opened the camera, he saw the film roll which had “EXPOSÉ” on it. His first thought was that the film was already exposed and used, but with some more research, he realized it wasn’t! Moreover, that camera was built around 1924, and the film roll dated back to the 1940-1970 period. It meant the photos were at least 50 years old, if not 80 years old! Could he develop those photos?
#15. The Photos May Still Be There!
Although the film was very old and time could have degraded it, Martijn wanted to try and develop them. So he called his friend Johan Holleman, who had a lot of experience in developing photos. It was a piece of history, and he wanted to know more about it… Soon, he would find more than he had imagined!
#14. The “Slim Chances” Turn Into a Successful Achievement
“He warned me the chances to recover the vintage photos were very slim, considering the guesstimated age of the film.” Johan told Martijn to come over to his house where all his tools were and began a lengthy process of developing those old photos…
#13. Something Had to Be on the Roll
Martijn could only imagine what was on that roll. Putting a lot of effort in the development process helped them piece this mystery together. To find out what was on the film roll, they had to make sure it won’t get exposed to light, or else it would destroy anything that wasn’t developed.
#12. Could The Photos Have Survived All These Years?
The photographers wondered if the photo had survive the decades, and knew there was only one way to find out. After finally hanging the negatives in the shower and drying them with a blow dryer, Martijn and Johan spotted some of the images were still showing promising results. Then, they began the next step…
#11. Exposing the Photos
Martijn was closely paying attention to Johan’s meticulous work and documenting his every move: “I found myself in Johan’s kitchen documenting him working his magic on an, what later turned out to be, almost 70-year-old film. The moment the processed film was taken from the container, we were both stunned, as there actually seemed to be photos on the negatives!” What did they see?
#9. Four Photos Were Saved
The photographers were able to save four photos! They had enough details to allow them to see what the owner of the camera had captured 70 years ago. Martijn and Johan stared stunned at the decades-old film, not believing for a second that they were able to successfully developed it! Let’s see the four photos and learn more about them.
#8. A Woman Looking At the Camera
As if a ghost of the past, there was a woman staring back at the camera. She was standing close to a cement pathway that ran along the side of a mountain. In the second photo, the same woman appeared…
#7. A Bridge and the Ocean
The second photo revealed the woman standing on a bridge that overlooked the ocean. Was this woman the owner’s relative? Martijn and Johan were more than excited and began piecing the photos together with the last two photos that revealed a few more essential details!
#6. Walking On a Steep Cliff
The third photo of the woman showed she was walking on a steep cliff. The men hoped the last photo would tell them more information - and it did more than that! It led them to Canada!
#5. The Fourth Photograph
In the fourth photograph, Martijn and Johan saw an old man that carried a camera case over his shoulder. It was obvious he was the owner of the camera and the woman was indeed his wife. Then, as Martijn asked himself one more question, he got some answers he never thought he’d receive!
#4. Sharing The Discovery on Facebook
Martijn wondered where were these photos taken and as he turned for help on Facebook, a friend messaged him the exact location, showing him a screenshot from Google Streetview. That photo had been taken in Biarritz, France! But what neither Martijn nor Johan expected was to be contacted by a woman from Canada!
#3. A Glimpse Into The Past
“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. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to hand over these negatives to the descendants of this mystery photographer,” wrote Martijn in his Bored Panda article. He had no idea that the woman from Canada was the granddaughter of the original camera owner!
#2. The Granddaughter Contacts Martijn
Martijn was contacted by a Dutch woman named Marion Jurrjens (left) who recognized the faces in the old photos. She told Martijn that the owner of the camera was called Theo Lammers and the woman in the photo was his wife Elisabeth Lammers-Berveling. Together, the two had visited Biarritz once. Martijn then decided to do an incredible thing…
#1. Traveling to Canada
Marion was no longer living in the Netherlands. She had been living in Canada for the past 15 years and couldn’t afford to see Martjin and get the camera back. This is why he decided to travel to her, and thanks to many people that donated for the expenses, Marion was able to see her grandparent’s old camera. “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,” she eagerly said after Martjin gave her the camera and the photographs.