Nieuwenhuis came to Jakarta in 1884 as a member of the Military Band. He learned to be a photographer there at the studio of Koene & Co. In 1892 he had a studio of his own in Padang on Sumatra, where he made calling card portraits of Europeans and wealthy Sumatrans.

Nieuwenhuis travelled through Sumatra a lot, photographing the landscape. He gave special attention to iron bridges, railways and train stations. His photographs also show the indigenous population and the various aspects of their culture. He photographed the homes of Minangkabauands, street markets, women doing laundry in the river, and men at the mosque.

Nieuwenhuis also took pictures of the original population in traditional dress. The photographs were sold to tourists, in albums or individually. They ultimately found their way to Europe, where the pictures appeared in popular travel stories and scientific essays.

From:
Anneke Groeneveld, C.B. Nieuwenhuis' Views of Sumatra, in Toward Independence, A Century of Indonesia Photographed, San Francisco 1991, pp. 64-71