One of our favorite day-after-Hullabaloo activities is searching for the #hvhullabaloo hashtag on social media and seeing our awesome vendors’ and shoppers’ photos from the event. Last year, tons of people were posting photos of their photos by Tom DeLooza—and getting lots of likes and comments! But unlike most in your newsfeed, these pictures are special because of sooooo much more than an Instagram filter...
Inspired by his “internal mad scientist” and a lifelong fascination with building things, Tom takes your portrait WITH CAMERAS HE BUILT, and uses a mid-19th century technique called wet-plate collodion to send you home with a hauntingly beautiful keepsake. One of the oldest forms of photography, this technique takes its name from the fact that the image plate has to be coated, sensitized, exposed, and developed all while the chemistry is still wet. While this means that Tom is burdened with a lot of equipment, chemicals, and materials, he’s perfectly willing to lug all this around to provide you with a unique souvenir of Hullabaloo (or an amazing gift if you can bear to part with it!) in a matter of minutes.
Tom’s portraits are uncanny—leaving you with a curious feeling that you’re looking at yourself as your own ancestor…Yet, while the portraits look antique, there’s a modern sensibility and a quirky edginess too—past colliding with present in a delightfully confusing way. His work has been seen in numerous galleries, displays, and exhibitions and he shoots everything from still lives to wedding portraits using this fascinating process; he also does workshops, tutorials, and equipment conversion. Learn more at www.tomdelooza.com.
We’re psyched to have Tom back at Hullabaloo to offer his tangible, heirloom pieces in this digital age…and at a special rate: $40 per plate, one plate per session. Want to be photographed with your favorite stuffed animal? Reading your favorite book? Wearing an antelope mask? He encourages you to wear costumes and bring props and favorite treasures, so get creative! He’ll also have gift certificates available (how about a session for your favorite couple!).
They may look like way-latergrams, but these awesome pieces are more timeless than any app. We can’t wait to see yours!
