MHQ Interactive, 1999-Now Customers lined up for webdesign, photography and identity work and so catalized his way uphill. It started in the attick and was followed by a lineup of respectable national and international advertising and photography clients. Throughout this evolving freelance career, he grew into various creative production roles such as designer, developer, interactive art director and tech-lead. More often than not, the Flashy tech work went alongside conceptual, animation and design input: Complimenting the foundations, polishing the user experience and proofing his clients a reliable and versatile resource within tight scedules. MHQ Interactive 2001-NOW

Terra Cinematica, 2003-NOW His curiosity in people, places and a more sustainable tomorrow, kept him travelling the globe. Studying culture and capturing the angles through his lens. It was the pursuit of a youthful dream, and the trail of another career path. After opportunity was found, he gathered his best images, and shipped them to the other side of the world in anticipation of a contract with Lonely Planet Images in 2007, they signed me up and gave the youthful dream a blue covered destination across many bookshelves. His trail spans across the surrounding Himalayan countries, India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, and also Japan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, various countries in Europe, Ghana in West Africa, the Polynesian islands such as French Polynesia, Hawai'i and New Zealand and last but not least Hong Kong, Macau, New York City and the ever fascinating Cuba. Since then his distinctive adventure photography has been published in countless Lonely Planet guidebooks, calendars, travel magazines, websites, books and even the occassional cover.

The Lonely Planet Images collection was transferred to Getty Images in 2012, offering a broader customer range and growth opportunity for it's photographers. The collection remains deeply rooted into Lonely Planet Publications. Merten's versatile travel photography portfolio is growing to approximately 9,000 rights managed images in 2017.

Conceptualizing the efforts By knowing the burdens of carrying a lot of self created content on his shoulders, Terra Cinematica is besides a concept study for providing data independence and self managed sales channels to photographers, also a brand which tells the story of Merten's personal adventures. It is an artistic platform that ties into curious travelers, eager to share the beauty of the world through their own vision. The Terra Cinematica photography cataloging features are available as an app for the Storywise system, providing the route to connecting multiple sites into a 'social network' and his ongoing documenting poetry and captivating scenes around the globe.

MertenFoto 1999-NOW Following, his style and authentic approach captured the imagination of the newly weds. As it seemed, a totally different field of expertise. Excited to learn, in 2009 he accepted the first wedding assignment, and began to diversify his disciplines after experiencing the joy of this more 'timeless' form of creativity. With ongoing requests, his wedding and event photography work remains an important branch of his proposition. Furthermore, Merten has been active with photography as part of his proposition since 1999.

1. Visit Mertenfoto
2. Visit Mertenfoto @ Youtube (Timelapses)

DeFryvolle 2013-NOW His creativity started to find a new flow towards new channels of expression. An ambitious creative storyteller emerged, utilizing his revived illustration and drawing skills to produce yet another portfolio containing commissioned and autonomously crafted artworks.

1. Visit DeFryvolle.nl
2. Visit example illustrated conceptual lifestory (Flash/SWF)

Storywise 2011-NOW For starters Mertenfoto.nl, evolved throughout several versions to be the delivery platform for his Photographic work today, including an online ordering system, with invoice generation and content watermark protection. Furthermore, 'Storywise, a Creative Narrative' and 'Terra Cinematica' saw the light of day.

Storywise, continuously evolving, is the foundation of all running projects. A data driven brand management platform and PHP development framework which can feed multiple brand websites from a single multi-user management tool running on one database or more. It evolved from previous smaller client requests and his own desire to grow and maintain multiple brands as a combined Creative Narrative. Staying in control over the brand conversion and resulting client conversation, independent from often changing online services. Through commissioned work and deployment of his own channels, focus remained on the requirements and scope, being able to keep evolving the framework into a system that combines popular brand related features, an app based extension setup, and most importantly adapts the CMS to any normalized data-schema, automatically. Whether its a shop or a photography catalog. It's built for client growth, and the developers rapid response.

1. Current and developing Storywi.se (new!)
2. Early concept study Identity Storywise

In retrospect, grasping satisfaction in the illusive landscape that advertising is, has been a true quest. It is plain to see that being part of it, doesn't leave one immune. A realization, he believes to be the carrot on a stick of contemporary young creatives. Facing the audience, to align with their dreams. Resulting in a less defensive and more contributing advertising culture, glorified by feasible rolemodels, and ultimatly expressed by their own and other trust worthy voices around the globe.

Proud to have become a family man with two beautiful daughters,
he's embracing that sustainable tomorrow now more then ever.

Let's get going!

Design and writing in progress, updated proposition soon. Thank you.