"Hello! Sly! Old camera!" shouts Tikam Chand, inviting passing tourists. Surprisingly, this old camera has been a part of his family for 150 years. Tikam's grandfather was the court photographer of Jaipur Maharaja in the 19th century. When the monarchy ended, the camera remained with his grandfather. He cherished her as part of the story and instilled it in his children. Tikam and his brother, the grandchildren of their famous grandfather, took care of the camera in 1977 and have since been photographing it at people in their studio on Hawa Mahal.
The camera was manufactured in the 1860s in Germany. Its body is made of wood and equipped with a focusing slide with Carl Zeiss optics for 4x5 ”format.
During his life, his grandfather photographed on Gravit photo paper, which was replaced by Indupaper, and then Noa Luster, though now it is difficult to find it in Jaipur.
"Whenever I hold a digital SLR in my hands, I admire how much a photograph has been democratized in a century and a half, but at the same time the charm of simple action has disappeared.
Now you can fill the flash drive to failure, but by the end for you understand that of the hundreds of photos, only a few mean something. "
Tikam claims that he has a single copy of the widely known "minute camera".
"Our task is to teach young people the art of black and white photography in order to preserve the succession of generations," says Tikam.
