Serge Van Cauwenbergh

Photo Gallery China and Tibet

Serge — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:08:54 +0000

Last year, I enjoyed a four-week overland journey through China and Tibet, with Kathmandu being the final destination. Since this was an organized holiday, I deliberately limited myself regarding photo gear. I normally use lenses with fixed focal lengths, but since this was an organized group holiday, it seemed much more convenient to take an [...]

Review: Domke F-803 Camera Satchel

Serge — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:34:38 +0000

Imagine a movie scene where the main character enters a store, chooses a camera bag and says: “This is the bag.” Nah. That is never going to happen. Not in a million years. There is no perfect bag. Every situation needs another bag. And no, I don’t have a camera bag fetish. Honestly, I really [...]

Going Mirrorless With Fuji

Serge — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:00:25 +0000

At the time of writing and publishing this article, my recently purchased Fuji X-Pro1 has already reached the final stage of its commercial lifespan. With the release of the X100S, it won’t probably take too long for Fuji to announce the long-awaited successor. But first, let’s go back in time for just a second: at [...]

Review: Think Tank Retrospective 7

Serge — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:58:07 +0000

I bought my first Think Tank photo bag shortly after a friend of mine introduced me to their products back in 2008. I chose the Airport Security Rolling Camera Bag, as it could easily fit all my photo gear, lighting accessories, and Manfrotto Nano Stands. I have used it for many years with great satisfaction. [...]

Tibet by Train: From Xining to Lhasa

Serge — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:24:30 +0000

This article is a translation from the original Dutch version which has been published here: Tibet: met de trein van Xining naar Lhasa. I will definitely never forget my time on the train from Xining to Lhasa. An unforgettable experience, absolutely, but terribly boring too. We covered a distance of 1972km. With the Trans Mongolian [...]

Travelling Light: Nikon D3200

Serge — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:42:30 +0000

This article is a translation from the original Dutch version which has been published here: Reizen door China en Tibet met een Nikon D3200. Unlike previous years, I had no personal project planned abroad in 2012. In September last year, I enjoyed a four-week overland journey through China and Tibet, with Kathmandu being the final [...]

The Creation of my Photo Story

Serge — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 19:35:44 +0000

After reading Daniel Milnor’s blog at Smogranch, I decided to repost this article from my own archive. For several years, I documented the life of my grandmother. It was a long-term personal project that I started in August 2008. During the last few years, several deaths occured in our family from which my grandmother never [...]

First impressions: Sony RX1

Serge — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:59:41 +0000

I have to confess that I have spent too much time over the last few years searching and waiting for the perfect camera, all the while testing many kinds of cameras and studying their specifications. Even though I have always been very satisfied with the quality of my professional Nikon DSLR cameras, lenses, and accessories, [...]

eBook The Photographer’s Workflow

Serge — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 20:08:27 +0000

In a never ending search to optimize my photography workflow, I purchased a very interesting eBook this weekend: The Photographer’s Workflow, written by Gavin Gough. He is an author, lecturer and travel photographer based in Bangkok (Thailand), where he founded the Bangkok Photo School. He also supplies stock photos to Getty and Lonely Planet. The [...]

Postcards from Tibet. Part 2.

Serge — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:53:02 +0000

Tibet and religion are undeniably connected. Not only in the Tibet Autonomous Region, but also in the surrounding provinces, Buddhism is omnipresent. At least, what is left after the invasion and the lasting dominance of China. The general fear that the ancient Tibetan traditions and culture will eventually fade away, is well-founded. Buddhism is a [...]

Postcards from Tibet. Part 1.

Serge — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:26:22 +0000

I would have loved to spend more time in this location, however, when travelling with an organization you are tied to a fixed program. Of course, there are times when you stay a day or two, sometimes up to four days in a certain place. Unfortunately, this was not the case here. The bus stopped [...]

Craft&Vision eBook: Adobe Lightroom 4 Unmasked

Serge — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:35:02 +0000

Returning visitors to my blog will probably have noticed that I’m a frequent and avid user of Adobe Lightroom. Since the first release, I have added this software to my workflow. And new software should come with a good manual, of course. Over the years, photographer, lecturer and author Piet Van den Eynde has written [...]

Reizen door China en Tibet met een Nikon D3200

Serge — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:32:52 +0000

In tegenstelling tot de voorgaande jaren heb ik dit jaar geen buitenlands fotoproject gepland. Dit jaar heb ik genoten van een vierweekse reis door China en Tibet, met als eindbestemming Kathmandu in Nepal. Bij recente buitenlandse projecten en reizen nam ik steevast een fototas mee gevuld met (semi)professioneel fotomateriaal: What’s In My Bag? Traveling With [...]

Tibet: met de trein van Xining naar Lhasa

Serge — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:21:07 +0000

Het is me wat geweest, die treinreis van Xining naar Lhasa. Een onvergetelijke ervaring, uiteraard. Een saaie bedoening, dat ook. Maar liefst 1972 lange kilometers. Met de Transmongolië Express van Moskou naar Ulan Bator in het achterhoofd, een vijfdaagse treinreis die al jaren op mijn verlanglijstje staat, keek ik erg uit naar deze rit. Als [...]

Adobe Lightroom 4 Map Module

Serge — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:43:37 +0000

In September I enjoyed a four week journey through China and Tibet, with Kathmandu being the final destination. Since this was an organized holiday, I deliberately limited myself regarding photo gear. In an upcoming article I will certainly talk about my gear choices in detail. When shooting with DSLR’s, I’ll never leave home without my [...]

Photo Books

Serge — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:07:23 +0000

The current issue of Shoot, a Belgian photography magazine, contains an article I wrote on photo books. I cover topics like how to select images for the book, how to think in advance about (micro) stories you can include, how to avoid pitfalls when creating the layout, etc. Issue 20 is available in stores across [...]

Shooting With The Fuji X-Pro1

Serge — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:01:44 +0000

The past few weeks and months I had the opportunity to test the Fuji X-Pro1, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the Sony NEX-7. Reason? Well, I’m looking for a compact, lightweight and unobtrusive camera that fits easily inside a small shoulder bag like the ThinkTank Retrospective 5 or 7. Although I already own the Fuji [...]

Uncle Daniel

Serge — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:27:46 +0000

My uncle Daniel. My father’s brother. A really nice guy. He has always been a journalist and he still is. He likes to travel abroad and discover the world. Sadly, his wife past away earlier this year at the age of 64, after an unfair battle against cancer.

Craft&Vision eBook: Dodge & Burn, Leading The Eye With Lightroom And Photoshop

Serge — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:46:40 +0000

Craft & Vision has released a new eBook: Dodge & Burn, Leading The Eye With Lightroom And Photoshop written by photographer and author Piet Van den Eynde. This new eBook contains a whopping 91 pages (!) and is filled with tons of useful tips and tricks on different dodging and burning techniques using applications such [...]

Letters From Jail

Serge — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:27:54 +0000

“Would you like to participate in a group exhibition in prison?” I was asked this question sometime last year. “Am I going to jail?” I replied. “Well, sort of; your images will.” The initiator is Victoria Deluxe, an organisation based in Ghent (Belgium), developing a platform and workflow for social, artistic and cultural projects. The [...]

Craft&Vision eBook: eyePhone – Making Stronger Photographs with Your Camera Phone

Serge — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:12:30 +0000

Craft & Vision has released a new eBook today: eyePhone – Making Stronger Photographs with Your Camera Phone written by professional photographer and entrepreneur Al Smith. The eBook contains 46 pages and covers tips and tricks on how to improve your photography skills using your camera phone. Some people thought I was exaggerating. Some encouraged [...]

Introduction to Off-Camera Flash and Advanced Flash Techniques

Serge — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:26:25 +0000

Author and photographer Piet Van den Eynde has written a Dutch photography book on off-camera flash and in-depth flash techniques. For some of you his name probably does ring a bell. This printed book is a Dutch translation of both Piet’s successful Craft & Vision eBooks which were released last year: Making Light 1. An [...]

Duckrabbit Multimedia Storytelling Workshop

Serge — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:14:39 +0000

“Everyone is playing a game with the audience. If you don’t, you are dead in the water.” Recently I attended a multimedia storytelling workshop in London, organized by Duckrabbit, a multimedia production company. The following statement comes from their website (used with permission) as I can’t describe it any better: “We work with documentary audio, [...]

International Photography Workshops

Serge — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:52:10 +0000

Last summer, I signed up for a documentary photography workshop in Rwanda, organised by VII. We were guided by Marcus Bleasdale and Gary Knight, two photographers working for VII. The success of international photography workshops has significantly increased over the last few years. Despite this success, it remains difficult to find helpful reviews and testimonials. [...]

Find Stories In Your Own Backyard

Serge — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:53:00 +0000

With Spring arriving it was time to change my winter tyres and replace them with summer tyres. A few years ago, I photographed the employees of a local tire central when working on my car. This year, I decided to bring the camera along to do the same thing. Although the location may seem rather [...]