-Tales of a modern day knight-

Have you ever wondered what it would be like being a knight, living in modern day times? Dutch photographer Martijn van Oers (39) and narrator Andress Kools (40) teamed up 18 months ago and started working on an ongoing, narrated photo series about Wolfram von Eschenbach: last living descendant of a family from the 13th century: a knight, living in our modern day society. Since the start, the series is presented on MyAlbum and has been shared numerous times by big photography- and mainstream websites and magazines worldwide.

Wolfram’s Urban Adventures is a mix of high quality, storytelling photography, accompanied by (often very funny) narratives. MyAlbum spoke to the creative minds behind the series to find out about their work.

© Martijn van Oers & Andress Kools
http://myalbum.co/knight_wolfram

How did you come up with the idea of doing a photo series on a knight?


The idea to make a series was born driving home from a photoshoot. It all started with an idea I had for a single image: a knight in an abandoned house. Andress and I had known each other for some time, and I knew he owned (and sometimes used) an amazing replica of an actual medieval armor. I told him about the idea, and he was immediately up for the adventure. So on a cold, rainy and really early Sunday morning, we found ourselves in a dirty, damp, abandoned farm house somewhere in Belgium, waiting for the sun to come up. After sunrise, we spent a few hours shooting different scenes and ended up with two really nice images, which were practically screaming “Hey! Look at us! We could be the opening images for an amazing photo-series!”. And so the idea of doing an ongoing series was born.

Why did you decide to add narratives?


We believe the pictures deserve more than a haphazard click on social media. We challenge the viewer to really take in all the detail that's in the images and reflect upon our hasty existence. Also, we really feel like we’re bringing something new to the table. Oh, and it's a nice way for Andress to ventilate his twisted mind.

What is the goal of your series about Wolfram?


We want to present people with high quality photography and a compelling story. The internet is filled with weird photo series. Highbrow series on three-legged dogs on the streets of Bangladesh, grown men who want to marry their blow-up dolls, people exiting a club... Wolfram's story is a counterpoise to the idea of those series, providing social criticism from the absurd viewpoint of a knight in modern times. When the whole story is finished, we might even exhibit the pictures in a gallery, or publish a book.

Is every picture of Wolfram an individual story, or is there a broader perspective to the series?


Like any good series on tv, all the individual pictures will eventually tie together to create one beautiful story. We deliberately choose to write short stories with every photograph, but woven through it all is Wolfram’s undying quest for love and acceptance.

What's your modus operandi?


Usually, an idea will pop into one of our minds at the strangest of moments. From wherever we might be, at work, in the car, on the toilet or even when showering, we use the most accessible means of communication to convey our thoughts to the other. Our messages might look like: “Don’t you think Wolfram would be interested in reading the Kama Sutra?” or ”Wolfram in a supermarket. Ideas?"

Then we keep messaging each other to work out what the picture should look like and we start spitballing ideas for a story. When we feel we're at least halfway there, we start scouting for locations and, sometimes, extras. Martijn starts working out how he wants to light a scene, which details to put in the image and how to get the props we might need. There's some crowd-sourcing involved to get some of the curiosa we've used...

Planning a shoot is actually the most difficult part of the process, because we're both busy with work and our families. So when we finally set the date, we try to shoot multiple ideas at once. It occasionally happens that we'll change the whole idea during a shoot. A great example is the image for "It's Wolfram, B*tches!". As Andress was posing, he threw a 'Westside' gang sign with his hand, for fun, which led to it being incorporated into the storyline.

After principal photography, Martijn starts editing and retouching almost immediately, while Andress starts penning down lines. We're always pretty psyched and inspired when we get back home, and that drives us to get the pictures online that same day.

The vocabulary you're using might be hard to understand. Aren't you afraid a lot of people won't be able to get what the story is about?


We think people will understand just fine after they've read the whole thing, even if they don’t know the exact meaning of each individual word. The story and the picture are each other's context; you can't fully understand the story without the picture, nor can you completely understand the picture without the text. The atmosphere around Wolfram is better described in archaic English, as he thinks himself a medieval knight but lives in the present time. His words wouldn't be out of place in a medieval manuscript.

MyAlbum offers the option to add video. You haven't included any, why?


Right now, we’re focussing on images and text, which keeps the page nice and clean, without any bells and whistles. But I can let you in on a little secret: this fall, we will be starting a new series, starring The Grim Reaper, which will be an eclectic mix of different kinds of storytelling, including video. Of course we will be launching the new series on MyAlbum too!

A lot of images in the series are set in really cool locations. Where do you find them?


Creating images using special kinds of backdrops, really adds to the atmosphere of the story. I love using abandoned, decayed places, since I’m a big fan of Urban Exploration photography. Plus they kind of emphasise Wolfram’s lonely, somewhat empty life. Luckily, I have some good contacts in the Urbex-scene, so getting my hands on the most beautiful abandoned places isn't that hard.

Do you two ever disagree about a photo or the accompanying text?


There have never been heated arguments, but we regularly challenge each other's creative vision. Andress usually picks up little things in the image to improve or change, while I try to get him to change words or parts of the narrative, to better match the feeling of the picture. The beauty of it all is that the end result always turns out better than when we started

Why did you decide to present Wolfram’s Urban Adventures on the MyAlbum platform?


When I first checked the platform, I was immediately convinced that this website was made especially for our series. Visual Storytelling is exactly what we do. I was blown away by the high quality feel it has to it. The ability to showcase large, high resolution images, the fact that an album can be completely personalised, the font, everything. It was so easy setting up the album, and every time I get to upload a new image and text, I’m impressed with the speed and the ease of use of the platform. I haven’t come across anything remotely similar, so I think I will be a customer for life!

What do you see as MyAlbum's main distinguishing factor from alternatives like Exposure, Google Stories or Facebook stories?

We have a Facebook page for the series too, but lately I’ve been telling people about the MyAlbum page only. I think the series works far better on Myalbum than on any other platform, because it looks really clean and professional, without different visual items that distract the viewer from our images and texts. Plus: it’s super fast and has a real hi-end feel to it, compared to other platforms I looked in to.

What kind of reactions are you getting?


The best reactions come from people who've actually taken their time to absorb the details in the picture and to try and understand the text. We haven't had bad reviews so far, not even after the image where Wolfram decapitated and buried six dwarfs in a forest...

What's your favorite image from the series?


Andress: My favourite is one of the earliest photo's. The one with Wolfram sitting on the edge of his bed. It shows his absolute desolation. Half the story is in his face, the other half is in the details. You won't see it at first glance, but that's what the text is for.
Martijn: I’m always in love with the latest story we presented, so right now my favorite is “The Symbolic Crosses of Christianity”. Until we shoot the next one.

You are using a MyAlbum Business account, what additional business features do you like best? why?


I know that there’s an option for adding your own logo, which I think is a great feature. I havent’ used it because we haven’t really taken the time to come up with a cool logo. What I do use regularly, is the Google Analytics option: it’s great to see how much traffic reaches our page and where they’re from, how long they visit the page, etc.

MyAlbum will soon add printed magazines and photo books. Would you ensable the option to print Wolfram's album?


That’s amazing news! I would absolutely enable this feature. We have been thinking about making a hardcopy album and start selling it, so you just made the decision to actually go ahead and do it, a lot easier with this news!

What would Wolfram have to say about the series?


“The shiny box grants mirages of myself. However, these pictures do not show greatness. Lo, do not gaze upon me in my direst of moments, spare me thine stares at my undergarments! Avert your eyes from my lack of grandure! Or, grant my tale the time to blossom.”