Pim, and our team of adventurers ready to set out for a day of shooting.

When we set out to create what would become the 2019 Cambo Factory tour late in 2018 we sat and tried to create an event that both was visually interesting as well as something that would be stimulating for a fan of Cambo equipment (or someone who was curious about how a final camera is “born” from raw materials).

Our workshop tour-guides Koop and Rene from Cambo NL.

We started the first official day of our workshop at Cambo Headquarters and Factory in the small town of Kampen in The Netherlands.

Our hosts gratefully started with a brief history lesson which served to tell us how Cambo as a company was started, and walked us through some of the design ethos to help us understand where the company would be going.

Renè shows a part in the process of being milled.

We then were lead through a guided tour of the factory floor. We would see how each product begins as a digital rendering, which then gets fed into a computerized milling machine that transforms raw aluminum blocks into a final product.

We also just happened to be in the factory while some new products were making their way off the line. Our tour group were the first people outside of The Netherlands to see these upcoming camera accessories!

“These are our ‘lucky stones’ that remove the rough edges” – Koop

After lunch in the neighboring village we were back in the conference room and it was time for the fun to really begin. Each participant was given the opportunity to check out whatever equipment they could possibly imagine.

Each participant then received specialized one-on-one training as to how to best get the most out of what would be their tools for the rest of the week. As well as a special gift, a personalized camera bracket, that was laser engraved with each participant’s name and markings to indicate it came from our Tulip adventure that would commence the next day.

Sunrise wasn’t a challenge for Geneviève, our Swiss visitor.

Our plans to capture Kampen at sunrise may have fallen short due to morning mist and cloudy skies, but that didn’t stop us from trying.

Photo by Steven Barger

After a nice breakfast, it was off to the races!

All packed and ready to go!

We met with Pim Van Der Maden, a well known Dutch photographer, and Renè from Cambo who would be our local guides for the tour.

Our wonderful tour guide, Pim Van Der Maden
“You see a photo with your eyes, but you feel a photo with your heart”
Pim and Judy discuss the best ways to apply camera movements to her image.
Steven got his hands on the WRS-1600 and a new Rodenstock Aperture Only mounted lens.
Photo by Steven Barger
Renè made sure to have a spare WRS body near by, just in case anyone wanted something else to try.
Photo by Judy Doherty

If we had waited another week all of these tulips would have already been harvested. The warm winter earlier in the year caused the bloom to start before we arrived. While we were shooting, the farmers were walking the rest of the fields removing any stray colored flowers that had made their way into the neatly organized rows.

After a full morning of Tulips, we went back to Pim’s studio for a much needed cup of hot coffee.

The clay ground of the tulip fields definitely needed proper footwear. The inside of our tour van looked much worse once we were done with it.
Pim invited us into his studio for refreshments and to see some of his recent projects.

We then moved to the (former) island of Schokland, which back before the reclamation in the 1940s was known to have the North and South ends almost completely separated from each other every day during high tide.

Suzanne quickly learned what the Actus was capable of.
The (Former) island of Schokland made for some beautiful images of the reclaimed land.
Photo by Judy Doherty

Just 77 years ago, most of this area was under water as it exists below sea level.

Photo by Blake Griffin

We then moved to the seaside village of Urk for a chance to shoot some perspective corrected architecture of an old light house that no longer shines.

Photo by Steven Barger

Urk is also the home of a functional port, as any good seaside village should be. The local population still makes a living by fishing and the maintenance of boats.

Photo by Blake Griffin
Photo by Judy Doherty

After Urk we returned back to Kampen for dinner, and to our surprise the city streets began to fill. We knew that the next day was going to be a big celebration for The King, but little did we know that the party started the night before!

The Kampen Sturgeon – One of the many floats in the Pre-King’s Day Parade.

Kings day proper was left open for everyone to explore the local celebrations. Booths lined the street offering games, treats, and a celebration of all things orange!

Photo by Judy Doherty

Later that night we were in for one last surprise. We were granted VIP access to a special concert at the medieval cathedral in the heart of Kampen where our host Renè was performing as part of the nationally celebrated Men’s choir.

Photo By Suzanne Barger
The organ in the Kampen cathedral is one of the largest in The Netherlands, and is very impressive to see in person, photos just don’t do it justice.

The next morning it was time to pack up and head back to Amsterdam for our last day together. We all enjoyed the time we had spend with each other, and agreed that the adventure would need to continue again next year!

We couldn’t have asked for better weather before we hit the road back to Amsterdam.

We have already started planning for our 2020 trip, which will be an all new adventure. Please keep checking back for more information as it becomes available. We can’t wait to have you join us!