Kindred Cameras

Kindred Cameras Kindred Cameras is a photography studio, workshop space and gallery based in Docklands, Melbourne.

28/08/2026

With a few leftover sheets of coated paper from the last cyanotype workshop and a bit of spare time, I hit the street yesterday to soak up some sunshine while making urban cyanotypes.

I immediately regretted not having more paper, or larger sheets, I’ll definitely be more prepared next time, because this was super fun. A great workshop idea I reckon, if the weather holds out.

26/08/2026

My wife and I recently visited Bali, for an annual pilgrimage we now take to visit my father in law’s grave.

He’s buried in a small cemetery behind some rice paddies and a mosque, down the bottom of a steep hill that gets baking hot in midday sun.

It’s a beautiful graveyard. Some plots are kept tidy, but may have returned to nature. Flowers spring in every direction, and butterflies flitter amongst them. Compared to the sterile, manicured, sprawling lawns of many modern western cemeteries, this place feels tranquil, and alive.

This photo is of the rice paddies at the top of the hill, I wasn’t sure how I felt photographing the gravesite. I think there will be a cyanotype work to come.

19/08/2026

Jack (the Jack Russell) was my childhood pet.

Even though he passed almost 15 years ago it’s still one of the saddest days of my life. I took this photo the day before he died, and it’s one of my favourite photos to revisit. There’s something about it that feels hard to describe, but all I can say is that I’m glad it exists.

The fragility of the Polaroid transfer seems to lend itself well to themes of loss and grief, particularly when you mess them up and tear them like I did with this one. I like how it’s turned out though, and I’m glad I got the chance to look at this photo once more.

17/08/2026

How to take colour images with the scanner camera:

If you’ve built a camera using a ‘contact image sensor’ scanner like this one, you’ll notice your images are black and white. I’ve come up with an interesting way to make them colour however using a 165 year old technique.

What we are doing differently is lighting with primary colours from the source, rather than filtering out certain wavelengths on the cameras end. I’m using my assorted Nanlite RGB lights, and dialling in pure red, blue and green as needed. It’s a funny implementation of old and new technology, that works really well for this instance.

Once you’ve got your three photos captured with red, green and blue light, you load them as layers into photoshop, make sure you are in RGB mode, double click them thumbnail and turn off the channels which are irrelevant. You’ll get a full colour image, which as you can see, opens up a heap of creative potential!

I’ve still got a few tips left for this process so I’ll be making another one or two videos, keep an eye out for updates.

11/08/2026

Does cyanotype work on black paper?

A decent enough question I thought, so I decided to test it. I had high hopes for this paper but it wasn’t great, I’m going to try another brush though.

I suppose this raises the question too, how black is black? One could argue that this paper is just very dark grey, but I think it’s black enough in practice. There is a nice quality between the exposed and unexposed parts when reflecting the light, it has a good sense of objectness in relation to its space.

What should I try next?

Photos I’ve captured with my scanner camera.I made these photos the other day while filming a tutorial on how to build t...
11/08/2026

Photos I’ve captured with my scanner camera.

I made these photos the other day while filming a tutorial on how to build these cameras. I’ve fiddled around with them for several years, and over the course of making and teaching the process have uncovered a few interesting quirks.

I love the aesthetic, it’s totally unique. The photo forms line by line so movement is rendered fluid. I’ve got a video on how to make colour images coming soon too.

10/08/2026

How to build the world’s worst camera:

- Materials needed: magnifying glass, scanner, black foamcore, tape
- Find the maximum focusing distance of your lens by projecting light onto a wall from a window, measure the length when a distant scene is in focus
- Find the minimum focusing distance of your lens by projecting light onto a wall from a phone screen held 1-2m from the lens, and measure when in focus
- Design the box: you want to make two halves that slide into each other, with the lens on one side and the scanner on the other, it should be your maximum focusing distance measurement when closed and at least your minimum focusing distance measurement when extended
- You get focus by sliding the box back and forth, doing a preview scan, and adjusting as needed
- You can only change exposure via aperture or light (i.e, there is no shutter speed or ISO), however reducing the aperture will also reduce the size of the image, so adjusting light is the better
- I’m using a Nanlite FC-720c with a 120cm rapid softbox for the key, and a FC-120c with a 60cm rapid softbox for the kicker, these lights are also RGB which can be used to make colour images (stay tuned for part 2!)
- You can use any scanning software, and the only option to worry about is DPI, which will change the resolution and length of the capture time (not the exposure though!)
- A higher DPI will make for more erratic looking movement, if movement speed stays the same

That’s the gist of it, half the fun is mucking around with things from there. This camera interestingly only takes photos in black and white, however I have worked out a quirky way to make colour photos that I haven’t seen before, follow for part 2!

Nanlite Australia
PROtog
Nanlite Global

25/07/2026

This is what cyanotype looks like on different coloured paper.

I bought this paper years ago to make cyanotypes with, but it was such terrible paper I put it away in a box and forgot about it. That was, until the other day, when I rediscovered it and thought I’d use it to make some learning resources for the class this semester.

While the paper hadn’t gotten any better, it was interesting to see how the traditional blue colour of cyanotype was changed by altering the colour of the base. Purple and teal were my favourite results, which one is yours?

23/07/2026

It’s been seven very happy years since I met my wife.

She took me on a tour of Footscray that night, where we hit up local hotspots like Sloth and Encore Pizza. I fell in love with the west side then, and her not to long after.

To celebrate the occasion I got her some flowers, but a slight more permanent version. I made this cyanotype today and added some gold leaf to jazz it up a bit, and it’s come together quite well.

This is what cyanotype looks like on all the coloured paper in my studio.I’m back at uni this week, which always provide...
23/07/2026

This is what cyanotype looks like on all the coloured paper in my studio.

I’m back at uni this week, which always provides me with lots of inspiration for new learning resources. I often get asked if cyanotypes can be a colour other than blue, and while the name might imply otherwise, there are some ways to push it in a different direction.

One of those ways is using coloured paper as a base, so with a rainbow book of paper I bought years ago I thought I’d make some new reference material. Note that the paper itself is terrible, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone else use it, it was cheap and from Kmart and honestly a nightmare to work with.

Light green - the shadows develop to a forest green which is quite nice. This is a little underexposed I think, and that green could get a bit darker.

Red - the red really neutralises the blue, making for a very monotone looking print.

Teal - it’s surprisingly how a slight change in blue makes so much difference. I really like this one as a softer alternative to regular cyanotype blues.

Pink - shadows develop into a purple which makes for a nice dual tone effect. I don’t think the pattern here does the colour combo justice.

Blue - the most boring result, probably unsurprisingly. It does give the effect of lower contrast than normal however, which offers some creative opportunity.

Orange - another one I really liked. The orange neutralises the blues like with the red, giving a very monotone feel. I could see some nice sepia shots coming out from paper around this colour.

Yellow - one of my least favourites. Similar result to the light green, but with less pleasing colours.

Purple - another favourite, similar effect to the dual tone of the pink, but with a more sultry hue

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