ABOUT
Nicolas Castermans is a French photographer working across documentary, landscape and photographic storytelling. His work explores the relationship between people, places, culture and change, with a particular interest in tradition, identity and the ways landscapes and communities evolve over time.
His photographic practice grew out of a life of travel. At 21, he moved to China to pursue a Master’s degree in International Business, beginning a journey that would take him across Asia for three years and, later, through seven years of exploring Latin America. It was during these years that photography gradually became a way of looking more closely at the people and places he encountered.
Today, Nicolas develops both long-term personal projects and shorter photographic essays, often returning to places over time to build a deeper understanding of them. His work moves between documentary observation and a more contemplative approach to landscape, seeking not only to describe a place, but to convey something of what it feels like to be there.
His work has received recognition in international competitions, including 1st Place in the Series category of the Eyeshot Open Call 2024 for Breath of Modernity, as well as awards from the IPA Awards, Travel Photographer of the Year, The Independent Photographer, Life Framer and the Siena International Photo Awards. His photographs have been published in magazines including National Geographic Traveler and GEO and have been exhibited internationally.
Alongside his personal work, Nicolas has collaborated with outdoor and lifestyle brands including Jack Wolfskin Poland, Atomic Poland and Shima, producing photography around travel, hiking, skiing and adventure.
Since 2016, Nicolas and his wife have also run a travel company in Peru, designing and leading immersive journeys across South America. His long-term relationship with the region has become an important part of his photographic practice and continues to inform his work.
Bodies :
Fujifilm XT1, XT3 and now XT5
Lenses :
Fujinon XF 23mm f2
Fujinon XF 33mm f1,4
Fujinon XF 16-55mm f2,8
Fujinon XF 16-80mm F4
Fujinon XF 55-200mm F3,5-4,8
LIMITED EDITION MONOGRAPH
AWARDS
♦ 1ST PLACE SERIES AT EYESHOT OPEN CALL 2024
THEME : DOCUMENTARY
SERIES : “BREATH OF MODERNITY”
♦ 1ST PRIZE AT 500PX
GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
CATEGORY : DOCUMENTARY (FEBRUARY 2024)
♦ 2ND PRIZE AT IPA 2025
THEME : EVENT / TRADITIONS & CULTURES (PROFESSIONAL)
SERIES : “QOYLLUR RIT’I FESTIVAL”
♦ 2ND PRIZE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : NIGHT LIFE (JANUARY 2024)
JUDGE : LAURYN HILL (Photo Editor at Wired Magazine)
♦ 2ND PRIZE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : COLOR (OCTOBER 2023)
JUDGE : DJENEBA ADUAYOM (Time, Vanity Fair, The New York Times…)
♦ 3RD PRIZE AT THE INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER
THEME : TRAVEL (JULY-AUGUST 2022)
JUDGE : STEVE MC CURRY (Magnum Photographer)
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : PLANET EARTH (AUGUST 2023)
JUDGE : AMI VITALE (National Geographic Photojournalist)
♦ FINALIST AT THE INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER
THEME : COLOR (JUNE 2022)
JUDGE : ALESSIA GLAVIANO (Brand Visual Director of Vogue Italia)
♦ REMARKABLE ARTWORK AT SIENA AWARDS
THEME : JOURNEYS & ADVENTURES (SEPTEMBER 2023)
♦ COMMENDED IN THE 2022 “TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS”.
SHORTLISTED IN THE PORTFOLIO : “CULTURES”
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : YOUTH (MAY 2025)
JUDGE : SMITA SHARMA (Acclaimed Photojournalist)
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : COLOR (MARCH 2024)
JUDGE : THOMAS JACKSON
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : OPEN CALL (AUGUST 2022)
JUDGE : DILYS NG (Senior Photo Editor at TIME)
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : NIGHT LIFE (JANUARY 2023)
JUDGE : REBECCA MORSE (Curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : PLANET EARTH (JULY 2024)
JUDGE : MELISSA FARLOW (Pulitzer Prize-winning and National Geographic photographer)
♦ SPECIAL MENTION IN THE 2022 “TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS”.
SHORTLISTED IN THE CATEGORY : “CULTURES”
♦ SPECIAL MENTION IN THE 2023 “TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS”.
SHORTLISTED IN THE CATEGORY : “VISUAL STORIES”
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : FOUR SEASONS (FEBRUARY 2025)
JUDGE : ALEX SNYDER (Senior Photo Editor at The Nature Conservancy)
♦ WINNING IMAGE AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : COLORS (MAY 2026)
JUDGE : JIMMY MARBLE
♦ FINALIST AT THE INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER
THEME : LANDSCAPE (NOVEMBER 2023)
JUDGE : JIM RICHARDSON (National Geographic Photographer)
♦ FINALIST AT THE INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER
THEME : EMERGING TALENT (MARCH 2022)
JUDGE : CAROLINE HUNTER (Picture Editor for The Guardian Weekend Magazine)
♦ EDITOR’S PICK AT LIFE FRAMER
THEME : COLOR (MARCH 2023)
ANIMAL KINGDOM (FEBRUARY 2025)
PORTRAIT (MAY 2026)
♦ FINALIST AT THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
THEME : INTIMATE LANDSCAPE (2023)
PUBLISHED IN THE YEAR 3 BOOK
♦ FINALIST IN THE 2020 “TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS”.
SHORTLISTED IN THE PORTFOLIO : “PEOPLE OF THE WORLD”
♦ FINALIST IN THE 2021 “TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS”.
SHORTLISTED IN THE PORTFOLIO : “LANDSCAPES AND ADVENTURE”
♦ EDITORS’ PICK AT THE INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER
THEME : OPEN CALL (DECEMBER 2021)
♦ 500px WEBSITE TAKEOVER WINNER
THEME : CAMERAS ON (JUNE 2022)
♦ 500px
EDITOR’S CHOICE
PORTFOLIO
Nicolas was born in the French Alps, in a little countryside village on the border with Switzerland. He turned 35 years old in 2026.
At the age of 21, he went abroad to pursue a Master’s degree in International Business in China, where his true passion for traveling was born. He spent every spare moment that he had, with an amazing group of friends, discovering this huge country and South-East Asia. He explored this continent for about 3 years and this is where he lived his first real adventures, like Vietnam on motorbike, or traveling 14,000 km from Hong Kong to France, via the Trans-Siberian train.
During this trip, he had the chance to meet Izabela, a wonderful Polish traveler, who made him the honor of becoming his wife in 2017.
Together, they decided to go to South America, and after a year in Peru, they set up their own travel agency there.
While developing this activity and guiding their first clients, he started to photograph and document what he was experiencing. Slowly, photography became a real passion !
They’ve been on the continent for about 7 years. They can’t stop being fascinated by the diversity of cultures and landscapes in the Andes.
In 2021, they embarked on a two-year motorcycle trip in Colombia that has taken them to Southern Argentina, while keeping organizing/guiding trips for their travel agency. Nicolas has also developed Photo Tours on the continent that he leads himself.
Today, they are based in the Polish Carpathian Mountains, Izabela’s home region, where they both feel they have finally found their place on Earth…
