Htet Thawtar San is holding an exhibition of black and white photos, many of which were taken using a pinhole camera.

FOR Htet Thawtar San the excitement of making black and white photos is watching the image gradually reveal itself in the darkroom. Like most young photography students her first foray into photography was not film-based but digital and she only came to learn the dark art of developing film during her formal studies.

“One day, my teacher took me into the darkroom and explained about contact prints…When you develop the paper with chemicals, the image appears slowly. It’s cool. It’s not like what you get with instant digital pictures on the computer. The way it makes you feel is totally different than with digital photos,” said Htet Thawtar San, 23, who in August 2008 was awarded a scholarship to study photography, art and sculpture at Alabama-Huntsville University in the United States.

“That’s why I like working in the darkroom. I get more inspiration from the work I make. The photos make me proud and I think ‘Wow I made these all by myself!’” she said.

After completing two semesters Htet Thawtar San had enough black and white photos in her collection to hold her first exhibition, which she hopes will remind people how film-based fine art photography and darkroom processes are still relevant.

“Here, I find that people rarely take photos with film so I wanted to hold an exhibition of film photos to make it known again,” she said.

The exhibition of 35 photos is split into three parts. The first is a series of photos based on the theme of escape. The second part is a series of portraits and the third part features photos taken with a pinhole camera, a light-proof box with a small hole in one side, which allows light to pass through resulting in an inverted image on the opposite side of the box captured on film or light sensitive paper.

All the photos in the exhibition are taken in black and white.

“Seeing things in black and white is different from how we normally see… the lines, shapes and textures are more evident in black and white. For example, black lines simply crossing each other on white paper may seem attractive. But when you add more colours among them, the colours distract attention from the form of the lines.”

Htet Thawtar San’s photos are mostly conceptual, dealing in ideas and form rather than caught moments.

“Most of my photos are fine art and seek to express my emotions… But I also like taking moments like Henri Cartier Bresson. He is my ideal and I particularly like his collection of photos called ‘Decisive Moments’. Every movement is caught in a moment so when you take a photo at any moment you will never get that moment again. It’s not easy to make a photo at the right moment.

“Even if you wait holding the camera ready, it’s still hard to synchronise the pressing of the button with the moment of action you want. But Bresson was able to capture those great moments.”

As one of the few female photographers in Myanmar’s male-dominated photographic community, Htet Thawtar San looks forward to feedback on her exhibition although does not wish to wade too far into the digital vs film debate.

“When I first joined the university I expected that I would only learn about digital photography. I have taken commercial photos using digital and think it will be how I earn in the future too,” she said.

“But we can’t neglect history. You are an artist and when you create a new artwork, in my opinion, you need to look back towards history because your work might be the same as what someone else created in the past. So you should know a little about art history and shouldn’t say that you make new work without knowing the origins of your profession.”

Htet Thawtar San has three more years of college to complete before finishing her degree.

The exhibition at No 340, Pyay Road will run until September 18.