As of June 2011 Afghanistan is one of the last places on earth where photographers continue to use a simple type of instant camera called the kamra-e-faoree for means of making a living. The hand-made wooden camera is both camera and darkroom in one and generations of Afghans have had their portraits taken with it, usually for identity photographs. At one stage it was even outlawed when former rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban, banned photography, forcing photographers to hide or destroy their tools.

The aim of the Afghan Box Camera Project is to provide some record of the kamra-e-faoree which as a living form of photography is on the brink of disappearing in Afghanistan.

The project is the work of Lukas Birk and Sean Foley, and we happily invite others to join with us to help document this vanishing livelihood and art form.

More information on our website afghanboxcamera.com