Contact Sheets Festival #17 – A for Enlarger, by the printer Diamantino

Behind every photograph on display lies a sequence of actions, skills and choices that shape the image. Through an exceptional performance, the printer Diamantino Quintas takes the photograph out of the darkroom to reveal all its magic. Before the audience’s very eyes, the image appears, unfolds and comes to life, reminding us that printing is an act of creation in its own right.

This performance forms part of ‘The (Almost) Complete Dictionary of Photography’, a collective project organised by the LUX Network to mark the bicentenary of photography. For this publication, the Planches Contact Festival has chosen the letter A for ‘Enlarger’, celebrating this iconic tool that has shaped generations of images and photographers. It is a sensitive and spectacular way of paying tribute to the techniques, trades and skills that continue to breathe life into photography today.