The Artsy Lens is a new creative space in Chinatown that offers DIY film camera and film development workshops. I was invited to experience their DIY Vintage Film camera workshop at their new studio.
Location of the studio
It’s probably Singapore’s first-ever film camera studio dedicated to customising your film cameras and developing photos. It is about 5 to 10 minutes away from Chinatown MRT station (Exit A). It’s pretty close to Starbucks Chinatown outlet.
Once you spot this door, you can walk up the stairs to the second floor. The entrance of the studio is on your right.
Their studio is an air-conditioned space with several workspaces. The place is clean and tidy. Walk-ins are currently allowed but subjected to availability. Thus it is always best to book a slot via their website before coming down.
Prices of the workshops
The prices are also stated clearly on their website. Do check the most up-to-date pricing on their website as the pricing is subjected to changes.
The DIY Film camera workshop with film development processing starts from $78 nett per pax. Currently (at this time of writing), there’s a special promotional price of $68 nett per pax based on their website. There is no specific end date for this special pricing but do check with them for the latest promotions before booking.
There are 2 types of film cameras which you can choose from: Twin Lens Reflex Camera (which you have to assemble the camera by yourself) and reusable film camera (ready-built).
Twin Lens Reflex Camera
I have not heard of Twin Lens Reflex Camera before so this was really new and intriguing to me. It is basically a type of film camera that has two identical lenses: one for viewing and focusing and the other, for capturing the image.
If you opt for this workshop (i.e Film Camera Pack A), you will get to assemble your own Twin Lens Reflex Camera. You will be given a set of tools, a box of the film camera parts as well as an instructional guide. You can refer to the guide to assemble the parts but I personally find the guide to be quite confusing. So thankfully, there’s a facilitator there to guide me. Once you get the hang of it, it is actually quite doable, even for teenagers.
There’s no age limit for such workshops but I find that it is more suitable for ages 13 and above.
The parts are not labelled so you have to keep referring to the guide to identify the parts. To me, this is slightly more challenging than fixing Gundam.
DIY Film Camera Session
After assembling the camera, you can customise the film camera and decorate it with these cute charms and stickers. They also provide markers for you to draw on your camera.
If you are not into assembling your own film camera, you can opt for the ready-built reusable film camera Pack B workshop. You will be given a ready-built film camera instead and you can also personalised the camera with the available DIY craft materials.
Photo Shoot session
The workshop doesn’t just ends here. After personalising the film camera, you will be each a roll of film to shoot. The staff will teach you how to insert the film canister into the camera and you will be given roughly around an hour to head out to shoot.
You can explore Chinatown district as you head out to shoot with the film cameras. You have to use up all the film so that you can bring back to the studio to develop the film later.
It was pretty cool shooting with the Twin Lens Reflex camera. All you need to do is to compose your shot, turn the lower knob to focus and press the shutter. The shots turn out to be really nice.
Development of the film in the dark box
After the shoot, I head back to the studio with the camera. They taught me how to rewind the film back into the canister. Instead of working in a dark room, I was given this dark box to feed the film onto the reel.
This is the most challenging but also fun part because you have to pry out the film canister to retrieve the film and load it onto the reel by touch! You can’t see what is going on in the dark box so you have to feel your way around.
Before this step, the staff will teach you how to open the film canister and load the film onto the reel. You will feel that sense of accomplishment once you are able to do it. To me, it is quite a unique experience!
Processing your film
Next, I was given a white lab coat to wear along with a pair of gloves. We had to pour the developer solutions into the tank with the film. Then swirl the tank 8 times to agitate it at fixed internal timings.
There’s a timer provided for you so that you know when pour in the solutions and swirl the tank.
After this step, it is time to wash the film with running water to remove all the chemicals.
Then you will blow dry the film with a hair dryer. You can also dab it dry with a cloth and leave it out to dry.
They have devices which allow you to scan the negatives into digital files.
You can view the images through their devices and select which photos you would like to save. You can even adjust the exposure and RGB of each photo.
After saving the digital files, they offered to print a few of my favourite photos into a hard copy photo strip.
My Verdict of The Artsy Lens Workshop
The whole workshop took about 3.5 hours in total. Personally, I felt that the duration is just about right and overall, it is quite a fun and enriching experience. You get to discover the art of film development through this experience. I only wish that they were able to explain more about the science and physics behind film development. It is quite a fun couple date idea if you are looking for things to do in Singapore.
You’ll get to bring home your personalised film camera and film canisters too.
The Artsy Lens
Address: 40A Sago Street, #02-40A, Singapore 059029
Check for more events and things to do in Singapore here!
