CLOSED weekdays for maintenance – May
Mother’s Day Specials– Instant Portrait– 9 & 10 May
KL Festival– Instant Portrait – 16 May
Kanta Darkroom Workshop Series – 23 & 24 May
Father’s Day Specials– Instant Portrait– 20 & 21 Jun
Kanta Darkroom Workshop Series – 27 & 28 Jun
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Kanta.Studio is a special photo studio practising traditional silverprint photography, offering unique black & white portrait photographs, hand-printed instantly. The new photo studio and darkroom spaces are both now opened at GMBB, Jalan Robertson, Kuala Lumpur.
Background– Kanta first started as an art research project by Jeffrey Lim in 2012, where he built unique box cameras for portraiture. Travelling through rural Malaysia, Borneo included, Taiwan and Japan in a social exchange with the indigenous communities. The uniqueness of his alternative process enables the exposures to be printed instantly on Silver Gelatin paper. He fundraised for the project by participating at art markets producing instant hand-prints which eventually laid the foundation for what would later become this permanent photo studio space.
Instant Portrait Series– sizes available
Small– 4 x 5 / Medium– 5 x 8 / Large– 8 x 10 inches
Other formats available via special request and with additional darkroom processing.
The available package– Instant Portrait Series is available in three sizes, Small, Medium & Large-sized print. It includes four exposures and prints, each black & white photographs printed on silver gelatin paper using traditional hand-printing methods.
Silver print portrait, taken with Box Camera, 4 x 5 inch print mounted on acid-free backing card, Ilham Gallery, 2022.
Event Specials
Click here for the Registration forms
Booking Form
Make a appointment through our Booking form.
S I L V E R P R I N T P H O T O G R A P H Y
Silver Halide or Silver Gelatin print is the common type of black and white photograph of the 20th century. It is hand processed in a controlled darkroom environment and requires optical and chemical development to process out the image in print. Silver prints have archival properties and are now considered a historical process. To produced hand printed silverprints today is such a rarity in practise and a unique traditional process.
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K A N T A . S T U D I O S E R V I C E S
Portrait photography
Instant Portrait Series are available at the photo studio space at GMBB Kuala Lumpur. Hand-printed on black & white silver gelatin paper.
Mobile session / event
With the mobile unit, the Instant Portrait Series has the ability to photograph on location, indoors or outdoors.
Darkroom space
A basic darkroom setup in at GMBB Kuala Lumpur. Darkroom Workshop Series course modules, tutor sessions and workstation rental available soon.
Print & Restoration
Analogue / digital
Restoration of heirloom prints or negatives, reproducing old photographic prints by hand, analogue and/ or digital methods.
C U R R E N T P R O J E C T S
Kanta Photography Studio– Start up with a physical space, creating a working photography studio revolving around an antique studio camera from our photography past.
Fotografik Van, 1st quarter 2024– work in progress. Building a more mobile darkroom processing unit. With the ability to process BW prints on the go, the photographic van is a development from the use of the mobile darkroom tent unit.
Kanta.Studio darkroom, 1st quarter 2024– work in progress. Opening up a basic darkroom for rental/ workshops, training. All my darkroom equipment collection finally seeing some permanence and use. Time to pass on the knowledge and expand the darkroom printing craft here in KL.
Potret Jalanan – (Street Portraits) an initiative to explore the possibilities of street box cameras in Kuala Lumpur city. A pilot to a program I would like to start, on creating a training workshop and box camera production. Creating a new street art culture with box camera portraiture. Starting with getting a street artist permit from the city council authority.
Instant Colour Portraits– First attempts at doing instant portraits in colour using the RA4 reversal process to produce a colour positive print instantly. The results were partially successful, getting acceptable colour balance is still a challenge. Will be running more test and make it available as an option in future events. <current>
With the support from
The Krishen Jit Fund 2013 & 2021, Five Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur
Kreatif KL fund 2024, Think City, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
With the support & partnership
Supported by Ilford Photo UK and Srishti Digital Life, Malaysia.
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.
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