Tintypes Make Great Gifts!

Genesee Libby is now offering tintype photobooth sessions at the studio and on location around Rochester. For $40 you can  have your very own 3”x4” tintype made.

Tintypes make great, unique and personal gifts! Mother's Day is coming up and photos of children in collodion are something special.

UPCOMING PHOTOBOOTH DATES Friday May 1, 5p-9p Saturday May 2, 10a-4p Sunday May 3, 12p-4p Saturday May 9, 10a-4p

If you cannot attend any of these dates please contact the studio to see if we can make other arrangements.

What to wear for your tintype. Blues, pinks, and light yellows appear white in collodion. It is generally preferable to wear colors that appear dark or grey in collodion. If you do wear something light it's good to wear something darker with it for contrast, such as a scarf, jacket, or vest. Stripes and other patterns can be a good choice. A tintype is a reversed image so if you have text on your clothing it will read backwards.

How long are the exposures. Anywhere from 2-10 seconds. We have a head brace to help stabilize movement. It works for many but it doesn't work on everyone.

Drop-ins are welcome, but we recommend you sign up for a slot in advance. To do so please call or email Genesee Libby Studio.

See the Facebook event page here.

The Lost Boys

I love this cabinet card. It is unlike any I've seen before. It's a candid studio portrait of seven costumed young boys having a good time. I imagine there was some directive from the photographer involving pointing, but overall they just look like kids enjoying being kids.

In most Victorian studio portraits (even the more playful and casual tintypes) people don't smile very often. And if they are smiling, it is usually a demure one, and not a "show your pearly whites" toothy grin that people are accustomed to now. One reason for this is that dental care was not so great in the 19th century so people might have preferred to hide their teeth.

Another reason is that exposure times were longer during the first few decades of photography, therefore people had to strike a pose and freeze it for a spell. This necessitated a head brace to keep the sitter's head still, and the base of these stands is often visible behind the sitter's feet. A big grin is hard to hold for longer than a few seconds without starting to look like a grimace.

Also, photography came on the heels of a long tradition of painted portraiture, and was most certainly influenced by the popular aesthetics that preceded it. You do not see large smiles in the painted portraits either.

At the time of this posting, this unusual find is for sale at Dennis A. Waters Fine Daguerreotypes. The tintype below can also be found there, but it has already been sold. Note the stand behind the boy's feet and the faint oval marking indicating the presence of a mat at some point.

Bugzilla Returns!

March 6th sees the return of Bugzilla to Cat Clay, her annual group show celebrating the art of the bug. I have a fondness for the maligned creatures of this planet (in addition to the more popular cute and fluffy ones), so I was delighted to be invited to participate this year.

I've had my studio in the Hungerford for one year and I have met a wonderful group of artists sharing this beautiful old factory. The amazing Sabra Wood of Cat Clay works just down the hall from me making some very groovy ceramics, running the non-profit Sample Soap, and hosting guest artists every month at her studio on First Fridays.

Stop by Cat Clay (#242) on March 6, 2015 from 5p-9p for Bugzilla! And then head down the hall to visit me at Genesee Libby (#225).

Participating artists include: Beth Bloom, Chris Charles, Karin Marlett Choi, Littlewing Clay, Amber Dutcher, Carolyn R. Ellinger, Shawnee R M Hill, The Knotty Owl, Jenn Libby Studio, Susan Mandl, Bev Rafferty, Sophie Signorini, Paul Taylor Glass, April Younglove and of course, her bugginess, Clifton Wood!