Instant Portraits at Ilham 11 Dec
Road tour to Penang 18 & 19 Dec

Kanta.Studio promotes the art & craft of the box camera practise through workshops, and road tours around Peninsular Malaysia. With over 12 large format cameras of various builds, and mobile darkroom tents, Jeffrey Lim is able to setup a mobile photo studio practically anywhere. Spending the last few years travelling locally & abroad on art research programmes, he has acquired invaluable experience, processing instant prints in the field.

Four workshop modules from making instant portraits, to publishing, are available through two local venues, Zontiga and Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. With recurring monthly road tours, bringing the instant portrait booth to localised events. Starting with Penang, with the hope to venture to other cities including Ipoh, Melaka, Johor, Kota Bahru and across the seas to Borneo as well.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jeffrey has made plans for a routine road tour throughout the Peninsular, starting with Penang.

With over 12 large format cameras of various builds, and mobile darkroom tents, Jeffrey Lim is able to setup a mobile photo studio practically anywhere.

list of workshop cameras
#1 Interchange 3x5"
#4 Woodie 4x5"
#9 Field graphic 4x5"
#8 Intrepid 8x10"
#10 Tangki 4x5"
#11 Toyol camera 4x5"
#12 Russkie камера 5x7"
# Kodak 2A 3x5"
# Ansco 2x3"
# Kodak six-20 R 2x3"
# Kodak six-20 W 2x3"

Workshop & road tour

Workshop module– The workshops covers the basics of photography, from the creation of a projected image, to the printed photograph. Experience the workings of the box camera, the hacking methods & alternative processes with just the basic tools & materials available. The four workshop modules are– Pinhole & the simple camera; Instant Portrait with Kanta Box Kamra; Art printing with BW photo paper; 101 Photobook publishing.

<Next Workshop - Pinhole & the simple camera, Zontiga, PJ, January 2022>

outdoor mobile workshop environment / makeshift darkroom

Honda Cub EX5 built for field work & Peninsular road tour

Road tour – Holding monthly portrait booth at recurring localised events, using a mix of box cameras & large formats to produce instant prints. Private sessions are available as well. Starting with Penang, and hoping to venture to other cities, including Ipoh, Melaka, Johor, the East Coast and across the seas to Borneo. Monthly venues include– Penang Tropical Spice Garden; Penang Hin Bus Depot Sunday Bazaar.

Next roadtrip is scheduled for 15th Dec to Georgetown city.

Schedule & map

Key Upcoming trips
Nov 25 - Penang
Dec 15 - Penang
Jan 10 - Malacca, Johor, Penang

Jeffrey Lim / contact

Jeffrey Lim is a photography artist behind the art & research project Kanta Portraits. He has made unique box cameras that produce black & white portraits as part of his art practise. By merging the traditional practises of ‘large format’ camera and darkroom printing, he has intuitively made cameras that can print instantly, all within a box.


This century old practise of street box cameras has seen a revival around the world, and been aptly named as the living form of photography. Jeff has now ventured into creating workshops to pass on the practise and knowledge in order to share and create a continuity of this art form in Malaysia.

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email kanta.studio.my@gmail.com
for bookings, event & collaboration


member of the Kotak Kamera Trio. A collective of three box camera practitioners, photographers, camera builders, darkroom artists based in Malaysia.

Nuestros primeros socios internacionales del Foto Club Lambe Lambe. International partner of FotoClube Lambe Lambe, Brasil.