Tale As Old As This Library...

Note: Today's special Beauty & the Beast post is for a lovely girl who adores this fairy tale above all others.

Happy Birthday dear friend!

This library has to be seen to be believed. It really is like stepping into the Beast's library...

And who'd bother going to the ballroom when there's all this space and beautifully Baroque surroundings (not to mention the smell of books)?

In late December of 2014, a creative team, led by the innovative Von Wong, were given a few precious evening hours to shoot some photographs (and a little video) in this amazing place, which houses the largest monastery library hall in the world. Admont Abbey itself dates back to the 1st century (and is still functioning as a working monastery) but the library dates back to the same time period as the first version of Beauty and the Beast, so it's more than appropriate they were paying homage to the fairy tale there.

What's even cooler? This was the first creative photo shoot ever made there. Take a look at some of the gorgeous results!

About this project Von Wong said:

I have always loved photography for the adventures and opportunities that it brings, not the hours I would spend retouching in front of a computer. As a result the desire to search and explore the most exotic locations and make a shoot out of it, has always been a particular passion of mine.

Projects like these are particularly magical because of how they bring people together. From fans (now turned friends) Eva Creel and Nicolas Cormier, American expats and photographers living in Germany willing to embark on a spontaneous roadtrip to drive me across Germany so that I can indulge in my creative shenanigans, to friends of friends like Oliver Schlichtherle, who drove all the way from Switzerland through Austria just to assist in whatever capacity possible… People from all walks of life somehow end up gravitating towards these amazing projects.

And at the end, we not only have fantastic imagery to share with the world… but a story to laugh and remember for the rest out our lives.
Dream big, anything is possible.

You can learn more about the process, the lighting challenges (can you believe it was night tine when they shot everything?) and see a few more behind-the-scenes images on Von Wong's blog HERE.

There's also a great behind-the-scenes video detailing two projects, one in a cave system and this as the other. I've embedded it below for your enjoyment (the cave one - also lovely - is first):