Over the years, we’ve posted a number of tutorials on how to develop film using coffee and vitamin C, which combine to create a photo process known as caffenol. The solution can be used to develop prints as well, and that’s what photographer Gijs van den Berg did for a recent project that documents coffeehouses in Amsterdam.

After photographing each shop, Gijs printed the photos in his darkroom using caffenol created from that shop’s coffee.



“In the past months I have been photographing the last standing traditional coffeehouses of Amsterdam,” Gijs tells PetaPixel. “Because of the changing coffee culture they are slowly fading away.”

His project is titled Gewoon Koffie, which is Dutch for “Just Coffee.” So far he has visited 11 different coffee houses, pointing his lens at the decor, the owners, and the patrons.

Using caffenol gives the prints a natural yellow and brown tint, and the different coffees produce an ever-so-slightly different look for each of the prints.

Gijs is currently holding an exhibition of Gewoon Koffie in the Werkplaats at the Volkshotel in Amsterdam. The free show will run through August 28th, 2015.

Image credits: Photographs by Gijs van den Berg and used with permission