Instant Box Camera Kickstarter campaign
The Instant Box Camera project is the brainchild of photographer, educator & publisher Lukas Birk. It aims to make instant box cameras more accessible.
By Christopher Osborne.
Lukas Birk of the Instant Box Camera project
If you are looking for something different in your photography, then what about a Box Camera? Paper negative Box Cameras have been used on the streets of Europe and the Americas since at least 1910. Part camera and part darkroom, these devices enable an image to be made straight onto photographic paper.
Traditionally the first photograph produces a negative image and is either re-photographed or contact printed to make a positive image. Some enthusiasts make colour portraits using the RA-4 reversal process. The whole process takes less than ten minutes.
Photographer and author Lukas Birk has been working on a new twist to this form of “instant” photography. He has designed a laser-cut instant camera that can be assembled at home. The idea is to make this unique form of photography more accessible – both financially and physically.
The simple-to-follow online how-to guide includes instructions on how to make both black & white and colour images. Lukas and his team have developed a series of tutorial videos. This series not only covers the basics of using this kind of camera but also has creative techniques too. See www.instantboxcamera.com
The assembly kit includes a lens and tripod for 395 euros. There will also be a limited amount of assembled cameras available exclusively on Kickstarter. To assemble the camera manuals in print and video will be provided and all one needs is very basic tools and wood glue.
The launch date for this project will be 1 March 2023. See https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/instantboxcamera/the-instant-box-camera
An initial batch of 120 cameras will be manufactured in Austria at a social centre that supports and gives work to youths without a job as well as asylum seekers. The project will be launched on Kickstarter.com on the 1st of March.
The Instant Box Camera will appeal to experimental photographers as well as Universities and schools. There is something very special about seeing the results of your photographs (almost) right away. It provides a very affordable solution for darkroom work and a camera in one.
Images © Lukas Birk 2023.
You might also be interested in this previous SilvergrainClassics article on “Box Camera Now” by Lukas Birk. See https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2020/11/book-review-box-camera-now-by-lukas-birk/
You can find an index to the entire collection of SilvergrainClassics magazines here https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/magazine/index-of-articles/