Senegal's lone photo developer fights to revive photography with film

Record ID: 1733230

  • Title: Senegal's lone photo developer fights to revive photography with film
  • Date: 11th July 2023
  • Summary: DAKAR, SENEGAL (JUNE 11, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) OWNER OF ‘LE SEL’ PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO, KEVIN AUBERT, SAYING: “For the moment, we're in a small space, with only two enlargers for workshops. We'd really like to have a space, a real laboratory, which could also be an exhibition room, where we could also do portraits the old-fashioned way, which is something
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2023 07:56
  • Keywords: africa arts culture dakar development emerging entertainment exhibitions film france human interest italy lifestyle markets niger photography senegal west
  • Location: DAKAR, SENEGAL
  • City: DAKAR, SENEGAL
  • Country: Senegal
  • Topics: Africa,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA008098419062023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: From a concrete jetty on Dakar’s sun-baked coastline, Senegalese photographer Amy Saar clicked the shutter of her vintage Pentax camera, capturing the light of the horizon on colour film purchased from the country’s only developer.
    “Dakar looks great with certain coloured films, because they really bring out the warm, vibrant colours,” Saar said, loading a fresh roll into the camera. “Film can be really great in Africa, because in general it’s sunny [and] very colourful.”
    Saar is part of a growing resurgence of analogue photography enthusiasts in Senegal, nurtured by ‘Le Sel’ studio in the capital’s Ouakam neighborhood. Founded two years ago out of owner Kevin Aubert’s apartment, Senegal’s last studio of its kind aims to rekindle the country’s love for the craft through film sales and hands-on development workshops.
    After decades of dwindling interest, the market for film cameras and equipment is expected to grow nearly 4% through 2029, according to a study published by Precision Reports in May.
    Limited access to film and darkroom spaces have hindered African photographers’ ability participate in film’s global resurgence, despite the craft having played a significant role in the region’s post-Colonial artistic history.
    Le Sel’s mission is not just to develop film, Aubert said, but to educate photographers about the origins of the medium, and show that understanding the analogue process can enhance their digital expertise.
    “When they see the image they shot themselves appearing for the first time, is always a treat.” Aubert said during a recent workshop. “It teaches us a lot about the image, the way to look at it, and the way to manage it.”
    Aubert hopes to expand Le Sel into a larger space to house more workshops, exhibits, and even an in-house gallery.
    In the meantime, local photographers like Eva Diallo are already showing works developed there at some of Dakar’s most prestigious art houses.
    “The film process is much more conscious than digital or iPhone photos,” Diallo said during her solo exhibition at Dakar’s Gallerie Cecile Fakhoury. “It’s important to be aware during the time it takes, from the moment you take the image… and the moment you have it on paper.”
    (Production: Kouam Joel Honore, Cooper Inveen)
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