KITCHEN WASTE DEVELOPERS
There’s chemistry in what we cook. This workshop looks at how food scraps and kitchen water—often thrown away—can become active photographic developers. The water from boiling pasta or sausages, the pulp from juice, the tea leaves and onion skins: they all carry potential. We’ll experiment with food waste extracts and turn them into plant-based developers, strengthened with vitamin C and simple alkalines. Each developer will be unique—shaped by what’s available, what’s saved, and what’s shared.
We’ll cover:
How to extract chemistry from food scraps
How to combine it with ascorbates to make black-and-white developers
How to adjust and test them for strength, contrast, and use
Basic film development in trays or tanks
We’ll finish with developed rolls and recipes that can be continued at home. This is a workshop about noticing what’s already there—and learning to work with it. These processes can be applied to still photographic images or to moving image material in any format.
INSTRUCTION: THREE HOURS in 1 Session
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 11 - FROM 7 PM - 10 PM
LOCATION: MONO HQ 33 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn NY 5 min walk from 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, B, D, N, Q, R, & G trains.
INSTRUCTOR/S: Andrés Pardo of Curioso Lab, Uruguay
Andrés Pardo Piccone is an experimental filmmaker, editor, professor, and researcher based in Montevideo, Uruguay. With over 25 years of experience in film production and post-production, he has worked across documentary, fiction, and experimental cinema. He is the founder of CuriosoLab, a space for exploring sustainable photography and low-impact image-making rooted in everyday environments. His recent work focuses on historical photo processes, alternative chemistry, and the use of local or discarded materials in the film lab. He is the author of Back to Basics and A Guide to Ecological Photo-chemistry, and is currently researching Edward Bach solarization as a way to extract energy for energy-driven developers. His ongoing projects include a critical and philosophical investigation into image-making, sustainability, and the potential of analog practices to rethink our relationship with capitalism, technology, nature, and time.
INCLUDES: THREE HOURS in 1 classroom instruction session. Each participant will have the option to bring in a roll of already captured 35mm or 120 black and white film AND/OR opportunity to film a self portrait of themselves on 16mm when they arrive during session. MONO will supply the Bolex camera, 16mm film stock and lighting studio. The portraits will be used to demonstrate the developers made in class and small sections of each developer will be passed out so that each person has a developed section for their notes. All camera equipment, film stock, chemistry, materials, course packet and safety equipment will be provided.
COURSE CAP: Limited to 12 participants
PRICE: $125 - 185 Sliding scale. In an effort to make the workshops more accessible to the community at large we have introduced a sliding scale option (below) All options are equal to one registration, and your selection will remain private.