Cephas was recognized for his contributions to preserving Java's cultural heritage through membership in the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies and an honorary gold medal of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

[1] As a youth, Cephas became a pupil of Protestant Christian missionary Christina Petronella Philips-Steven and followed her to nearby Bagelen, Purworejo.

[3] Cephas' studio was located on the second floor of the building where he and his wife lived in Yogyakarta's Lodji Ketjil Wetan area, now known as Major Suryotomo Street.

Groneman wished to generate interest in this culture in the Netherlands and requested permission from Sultan Hamengkubuwana VII for Cephas to photograph the dance scenes.

[7] In 1889, the Archaeological Union (Archaeologische Vereeniging) began efforts to study and preserve monuments of the Hindu Javanese civilization in Central Java.

One of the locations having high priority in the union's efforts was the temple of Prambanan, part of the larger complex attributed to the legend of Loro Jonggrang.

Cephas was assigned to photograph the site, while his eldest son Sem drew the buildings' profiles and ground plans.

Groneman submitted the photographs and descriptions made by Cephas to the Royal Institute in 1891, but it would not be published until 1893 because of the high reproduction costs.

[7] Following the completion of the Borobudur project, Cephas was appointed as an "extraordinary member" of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences for his works as a "photographer and practitioner of Indies archaeology".

[10] Groneman and Cephas worked together for the final time in 1899 to document the four-year commemoration of Hamengkunegara III's accession to the throne as Crown Prince of the Yogyakarta Sultanate.

On the occasion of Wilhelmina's 21st birthday later that year, Cephas was awarded with an honorary gold medal of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his work to portray and preserve Java's cultural heritage.

Naomi married Dutch engineer Christiaan Beem in 1882, and the couple had thirteen children, eight of whom reached adulthood.