Pinhole photography workshop in Lisbon with Maria Alternativa, a 1.5 to two-hour session limited to two people where you create photographs without a camera or lens, using small handmade boxes and light-sensitive paper in a darkroom process that makes the invisible visible and photography happen from the inside out. All images made during the workshop are yours to take home, and Sharona will also explain how to build your own pinhole camera to continue the process independently at your own rhythm. Contact Maria directly if you are a group of friends as the number of spots can be increased, and also if you have any mobility limitations that make climbing stairs difficult so the workshop can be arranged on the lower floor.
The session moves through the full pinhole process in sequence. You begin with the safety rules for correct use of a darkroom before loading your box camera in the darkroom with photographic paper. From there you carry out the pinhole exposure itself before returning to the darkroom to develop and fix your image, watching the photograph emerge from nothing in the chemical bath. Each stage is guided by Maria with the same immersive and accessible approach that defines all her workshops, creating a space where a technical and historic photographic process feels genuinely available to anyone curious enough to try it.
What you’ll learn
📷 Safety rules for correct use of a darkroom and light-sensitive materials
📷 How to load your pinhole box camera with photographic paper in the darkroom
📷 The pinhole exposure process and how light creates an image without a lens
📷 How to develop and fix a photographic image in the darkroom
📷 How to build your own pinhole camera to continue the process at home
What’s included
🖼️ All materials including photographic paper and darkroom chemicals
🖼️ A handmade pinhole box camera for the session
🖼️ Full guidance from Maria Alternativa throughout
🖼️ Your finished pinhole images to take home
🖼️ Instructions for building your own pinhole camera at home
What you leave with
Unique photographic images made without a camera or lens, a complete understanding of the pinhole process from loading to development and the knowledge to continue making pinhole photographs independently at home.
I am Maria Alternativa, a visual artist based in Lisbon. I make knowledge, experience and creativity available in a simple and immersive way, in a space where the atmosphere and the music make everyone feel at home. My workshops are designed for people who want to slow down, make something real with their hands and connect with artistic processes that have depth and history behind them.
Limited to 2 participants per session. Contact Maria to arrange for larger groups. Please also contact in advance if you have mobility limitations. Takes place in Lisbon.
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