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Old 9th May 2016, 12:06 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Default Visit to Eastman House, Rochester, NY

If anyone happens to find themselves in the vicinity of Upstate New York or southern Ontario (Toronto area), then a tour of George Eastman's mansion is definitely worth taking the time for. A friend and I drove down from Toronto this weekend (a quick 3 hour drive) and spent Saturday afternoon at the museum.

Approximately half the space is dedicated to photography galleries with rotating exhibitions, with a smattering of displays of historic cameras (not all Kodak, I might add -- their Leica case is fascinating). The rest of the space -- the main mansion -- is all about the life of George Eastman and the history of the Kodak company.

A dear friend of ours, who lives in Rochester, arranged for a 3 hour private tour and this was well worth it. We learned more from Jim, our docent, than we ever could have from just looking at the displays and exhibits. He happened to be a former staff photographer at the University of Buffalo, now retired. A wealth of knowledge. A pal of his joined us for a bit, who was one of a small handful of staff photographers at Kodak, also retired. What a career! A most interesting guy to talk to, especially about the whole digital vs. analogue thing.

We didn't have time in one afternoon to take in all that the place had to offer. So if you go, do allow enough for a tour and your own time to explore.

I expected more in way of photography exhibits (only 4 gallery rooms), so was a bit disappointed there. Granted, they are limited for space, so do the best they can. But the rest of the place made up for it. The exhibits of the Daguerreotype cameras and process kit was fascinating. It's a wonder any of those photographers lived to make a second print.

A big part of the museum's contribution to photography is their still photo and movie archive. Apparently they have almost 500,000 photographs stored in climate-controlled vaults, and who knows how many historic and current film master reels.

Highly recommended for a visit.

https://eastman.org

Regards,
Svend
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Old 9th May 2016, 01:47 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is online now
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I was staying down the road from GEH a few years ago and walked to the Museum. When I asked the way the Italian music student said he worked there in the music archive which are quite extensive.

It was far better than I'd expected definitely well worth a visit.

Ian
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Old 9th May 2016, 02:24 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Music archive? I didn't know they had that there as well. Not surprised, actually, as their storage facility seemed impressive.

Rochester is, in general, a very friendly city. And the folks working at Eastman House are most helpful and open.

Glad you liked it.

Svend
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Old 9th May 2016, 03:14 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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BTW, I just learned that the Kodak staff photographer I spoke to was none other than Steve Kelly, the creator of the famous Colorama in Grand Central Station, NYC. At 18x60 feet in size, it is described as the world's largest photograph:

http://wwwca.kodak.com/US/en/corp/fe.../colorama.html

If you click through to Photographer Interviews, there is a little audio clip from him. Very nice guy -- soft spoken, humble, incredibly knowledgeable. It was a pleasure to chat with him.

Steve also happens to be an accomplished player of the pipe organ, which he was playing with gusto when we walked into the conservatory of the Eastman House.

Svend

Last edited by Svend; 9th May 2016 at 03:20 PM.
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