Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.
"When people ask us what photography equipement we use, we tell them our eyes"
— Els & Joël
Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.
"When people ask us what photography equipement we use, we tell them our eyes"
— Els & Joël
WHITE WØLF — a side project of Woodland Studio — is an initiative by Els Gielen & Joël Neelen. Els is a professional photographer, while Joël approaches the camera with the eye of a graphic designer. Together, we explore the art of storytelling through photography, using images to convey ideas, emotions, ... and perspectives.
Everyone has a story and our stories all have something in common — we all start from nothing. Can photography tell a story or can an image capture a moment with tension, inspiration and emotions without using words? In visual storytelling, images are ordered in a specific way, either chronologically or as a series, with the aim of 'infecting' the viewer's vision and mind.
We've chosen specific objects or targets to create a series of images. By repetition of the same item in a different environment we try to grab the attention of our audience and draw them into the artefact. The focus of our free work is in the iteration, but each time in a slightly different way. We hope you enjoy viewing our images.
Everyone has a story, and at their core, all stories share one thing: they start from nothing. Can photography tell a story? Can a single image capture tension, inspiration, and emotion without words? In visual storytelling, images are arranged — either chronologically or as a series — with the goal of immersing the viewer, shaping their perception, and leaving a lasting impression.
We focus on specific objects or subjects, creating series through repetition. By placing the same item in different environments, we invite the audience to engage with the artifact in new ways. Our free work revolves around iteration, yet each variation reveals something new. We hope you enjoy exploring our images.
WOODLAND STUDIO is our creative studio, specializing in visual communication. Our goal? Clear, unpretentious, and impactful storytelling.
9 by 1,18 inch.
A slot in a door,
a flap in the facade at the building line,
or a tiny house at the edge of the road.
The mailbox comes in all shapes and sizes.
Everyone has one.
Big or small, plain or personalized.
Sometimes there’s just one, sometimes many together.
In her art book, Els Gielen turns her attention to letterboxes — not as ordinary, everyday objects, but as vessels of stories and traces of a disappearing tradition. Her photographs are not driven by nostalgia, but by a sense of attentiveness. She captures what often goes unnoticed, bringing back into focus something we have come to take for granted: the unhurried nature of human connection.
What makes her project particularly compelling is the way she reopened the cycle of communication. After photographing the letterboxes, she used digital tools such as Google Earth to trace their exact locations. In doing so, she attempted to find the people who live, or once lived, behind these façades. She then wrote them a letter — a real one, on paper, in ink, placed in an envelope and sent with a stamp. What emerged is a subtle dialogue between old and new: a digital search led to an analogue encounter. Here, the letter was not merely the subject of the project, but also its medium — an artistic gesture that does more than draw attention to the decline of written communication; it briefly reversed it.
Some residents replyed, while others remained silent. Both responses, or the absence of one, became meaningful in their own way. The photographs thus become more than a record of what exists. They become windows onto time, proximity and distance, and onto the traces of human presence that are slowly disappearing, yet can still be preserved.
In a world where communication has become increasingly fast, fleeting and intangible, this book project reminds us of the value of taking our time. It shows us that a letter — and even a letterbox — is more than an object or an act of communication. It is a space in which attention and trust can still linger, if only for a moment.
Through this photographic project, Els Gielen invites us back into that space. Not to return to the past, but to understand what we risk losing — and to explore how we might find a way to touch it once more.
Are you intrigued by the art book project? Order here.
"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." — Dorothea Lange
2020 © White Wølf. All rights reserved.
