Montse Altimiras Leads Analogue Photography Workshop in La Llacuna

Montse Altimiras, a passionate advocate for analogue photography, is leading a hands-on course in chemical processes at La Llacuna, running until 17 June. The workshop invites participants to rediscover the tactile magic of traditional techniques amid a digital era dominated by speed and individualism.

Altimiras attributes the growing interest in analogue methods to a backlash against digital immediacy. "The digital world offers endless options, but we've lost some of that magic—the anticipation and expectation of seeing the final result," she said. She contrasts this with the communal atmosphere of darkrooms, lit by red lights, where participants once shared a sense of complicity now rare in an increasingly solitary age.

The course covers three key techniques: cyanotype, a simple process yielding striking blue prints; salted paper, which produces popular sepia tones using silver nitrate and requires more precision; and black-and-white darkroom work, including experimentation with solarisation—an effect pioneered by Man Ray.

Beyond technical skills, Altimiras emphasises building connections among participants. The goal is to move past rigid methods, encouraging group evolution, idea-sharing, and small discoveries. "It's about escaping the formula and associating concepts to go further," she explained.

She urges a pause for reflection in a time-pressured society, where even students suggest shortcuts like pre-mixed developing kits, missing the ritual of waiting for images to emerge. For Altimiras, mixing chemicals and testing ideas feels more engaging than digital editing on a computer—a personal ritual despite her professional use of digital tools.

This ethos echoes her recent exhibition *Introspecció* at Untitled Art, a personal project framing everyday observation as a call to slow down and evolve. Ultimately, she views photography as art regardless of medium: a means of self-expression and message transmission that connects with viewers.