My first social media addiction was with the visual blogging platform known as Tumblr. It's focus on images drew me in. I found myself spending far too much time looking at images and looking for images to post (mostly of the vintage variety). I started the Genesee Libby Tumblr as a place to post historic images of people, places, and events that I found interesting, beautiful, and inspiring. It is the first place that I starting using the name Genesee Libby [Jenn C. Libby]. I've long been interested in pseudonyms, alter egos, and word play. This moniker was inspired by Rochester legend Pete Gruber, a saloon owner who went by the name Rattlesnake Pete because of his snake handling expertise.
Another personal Tumblr that I started around the same time is Compendium of Beasts. My friend and I were going to collaborate on a bestiary featuring his drawings and my photograms, so I started collecting images of animals to inspire us. We never finished the project but we enjoyed working on our list of animals to include. This friend recently died and I find myself drawn back to Tumblr thinking about him and his unique and wonderful perspective and sense of humor. The Felix image was his first Tumblr post and his avatar. I am sad that he's gone, but I'm grateful that he was my friend.
I ran the Visual Studies Workshop Tumblr when I worked in the Research Center from June 2012 through August 2014. I adored this eclectic collection. I attended grad school at VSW because the program focused on my three favorite mediums—photography, film, and artists' books. The Research Center archive includes all three of these, with a sizable collection of vernacular photography and rare books. One of my favorite collections housed there is the Soibelman Syndicate News Agency Collection—a diverse collection of news agency photos from the teens through the 1940s.
One of my favorite Tumblrs, which is almost exclusively 19th century photography, is Tuesday Johnson's Historical Indulgences. She posts excellent historic photographic images, and is diligent about including relevant information and provenance, including links to her sources.
Genesee Libby loves one-of-a-kind analog photographic technologies. This includes daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, Polaroids, Instax, and photobooths. I love collecting found photos, and these are particularly special because each one is unique—the only one in the world. At the studio we offer Instax instant portraits to create one of these artifacts for you. We provide supplies if you'd like to include a message and use your photograph as a Valentine to profess your love. We have many props and hats for use, if desired. Stop by on February 6th for 
In November, I had my first portrait clients at the new studio and it was challenging and fun! University of Rochester professor, Claudia Schaefer, heard about Genesee Libby through a mutual friend. As she was covering 19th-century photography in her class, she wanted to give her students the opportunity to experience a wet-plate collodion portrait session first hand. I was a bit nervous to be photographing such a large group for the first time ever, but it went quite well.
On Saturday January 24 at 1pm, Genesee Libby will be hosting a two-hour workshop to introduce people to the wet-plate collodion process. There will be a lecture and slide presentation, hands-on process samples, and a live demonstration of the process. This class is being offered through 
