About Me
Challenging photography, underground landscapes, and forgotten places
I don’t particularly like writing or talking about myself, so I’ll keep this short. My name is Tycha Buekers. I was born and raised in Belgium, and I am proud to be a Belgian living in the countryside.
During business hours, I work full-time as a Software Quality Engineer. My professional work is built around quality, structure, testing, problem-solving, and attention to detail. That mindset also follows me outside of work: I like understanding how things are built, how they function, how they age, and how they can be documented or preserved.
After business hours, I am usually somewhere outside, above ground, underground, or somewhere in between. You can find me in the woods, in the fields, on rock walls, and sometimes even inside the rock itself.
I am drawn to places that are quiet, hidden, forgotten, or slowly being taken back by nature and time. I explore abandoned buildings, underground quarries, mines, bunkers, cellars, tunnels, and other spaces that most people never get to see. For me, this is about curiosity, history, adventure and looking at the world from a different angle.
How it started
My adventures started around my fifteenth birthday, when I was able to join my dad on his explorations. He showed me places that are usually hidden from everyday life, and that feeling never really left me.
Over time, I started taking my camera with me to capture these moments and document the places I visited. What began as joining someone else’s adventures became my own way of exploring. Today, my boyfriend and I continue to head out together, searching for landscapes, stories, details, and traces of the past.
— “Gravity is a habit that is hard to shake off.” —
One of my favorite quotes of Terry Pratchett.
My photography
My photography focuses mainly on underground landscapes and difficult environments to photograph. I like a challenge. I don’t want to simply click a button; I want there to be work, patience and problem-solving behind the image.
Because many of the places I photograph are completely dark, light painting has become an important part of my work. With flashlights and long exposures, I try to bring hidden spaces to life and show their shapes, textures and atmosphere. I am always searching for new lights and techniques that help me create the image I have in mind.
Although underground photography is my main focus, I also enjoy photographing nature, landscapes, cityscapes, fossils, details and quiet moments along the way. Sometimes I leave the camera at home on purpose, either to simply enjoy where I am, or because my hands are already full with climbing, fossil hunting or exploring.
For me, photography is not only about making beautiful images. It is about preserving memories, documenting places, showing what usually remains unseen and sharing a small part of the adventure.
Underground heritage and documentation
Exploring underground places has also made me more aware of their history, fragility and value. These places are not only adventurous locations; they are part of our heritage. I try to approach every location with respect, caution and curiosity.
I am involved with several organisations and initiatives connected to underground heritage. Through Stichting Ondergrondse Werken, I help with 3D scanning and digital documentation of underground sites. We have scanned several underground locations for the municipality of Valkenburg, and some of this work has also been published by Caverne Geulhem on their website.
I am also a guide at the prehistoric flint mines in Rijckholt, where visitors can discover an impressive part of early mining history. Next to that, I am a member of the Studiegroep Onderaardse Kalksteengroeven, which focuses on the study and documentation of underground limestone quarries.
Within the Van Schaïkstichting, I design the yearly newsletter. Together with my boyfriend, I also support Luck Walschot in managing the quarries De Keel and De Kleine/Nieuwe Keel, which are operated by the Van Schaïkstichting.
For me, all of this connects naturally: photography, documentation, exploration, preservation and storytelling. I want to show places that are usually unseen, but also help record and protect them for the future.