Samanta Ortega

Classes Maine Photo Retreat Teachers Books/Zines Scholarships

Samanta Ortega is a Brazilian artist, educator, and researcher working with expanded photography, eco-conscious photochemistry, and found archive. Creating images, narrative compositions, and interventions that consider how human and non-human beings collaborate, her multidisciplinary practice merges visual, plastic, and filmic arts with handicraft and darkroom techniques. She understands experimentalism as an ethical and aesthetic commitment in which different media and processes converge, and errors, decay, destruction, and remixes are valued agents of change that keep images alive.

In 2022, she created Alquimia Fotográfica, a public pedagogy initiative that hosts her research in ecology and alternative processes in the form of essays and independent publications. As an educator, she offers classes, talks, and participates in exhibits in several Brazilian artist-led spaces, analog photography and cinema festivals, and institutions including the Brazilian National Archive, São Paulo’s Historical Archive, IMS-Rio, SESC, and SESI. As well as contributing to independent projects, seminars, and presentations as a consultant and production assistant, Samanta was part of the jury and selection committees in the Inflamável-Super 8 and 16mm Film Festival (2024), Derli Barroso Prize (2025), and Prix Photo (2024–2026).

alquimiafotografica.co

Samanta’s Classes

Samanta teaches alternative processes for StrudelmediaLive.

Applying Analog Principles to Digital Photography (begins Sunday, December 6, 2026)

Daura and Samanta did a wonderful job facilitating this class — they were super prepared for each class and gave us really helpful resources and video tutorials that I referred to multiple times when trying out assignments. I enjoyed learning other methods of alternative processes (although cyanotype is still my favorite).

—Tina (New Orleans)

Daura and Samanta were a winning tag team combination of enthusiasm, encouragement about everyone’s work, brainstorming the outcomes of assignments and providing real-time solutions, superb materials, and being well-organized in their presentation. I could go on and on, but I can offer no higher compliment than that they are pros at teaching and sharing.

—Kevin (New Jersey)

I was happy to have discovered StrudelmediaLive and the Cameraless Photography class with Daura and Samanta! Thank you both for the enthusiasm, knowledge, and hard work you put into the class. I appreciated the materials you put together for each lesson — they were really thorough and looked wonderful — and that you posted them quickly. Thank you also for your observations and insights that you shared with each of us based on our individual styles and concepts. I was happy to have been in the class and expand on my knowledge of cameraless processes. You make a good team! If you teach another class or have exhibitions, please let me know.

—Marta (US)

Daura and Samantha have mastered the not-so-easy task of teaching a class in craft processes very well. They were a good team and guided us through the different processes of cameraless photography with a lot of enthusiasm, youthful drive, and excitement. The documents we received were excellent. Both of them were also very helpful and guided our first steps in a benevolent manner. I really enjoyed the course, I had a lot of fun trying out the different methods, and the results are impressive.

—Barbara (Zurich)

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