| Biographical Display |
Artiste in Portraiture. American Photo Rooms. Frank Rufus Huff was born in the United States of America and practised photography in Whanganui in about 1878-1886. His studio took many names. It started out as Tyree & Huff, changing to Huff & Collinson when he went into partnership with Henry Clement Collinson, but it was most commonly known as the American Photographic Rooms under proprietor Frank R Huff. For most of his career the studio was located opposite the Roman Catholic Church in Victoria Avenue.
According to the advertisements placed in the Whanganui newspapers, Huff took great pride in his state-of-the-art American photographic techniques, including the use of a skylight in his rooms. This allowed natural light to illuminate the space all day long to aid in creating photographs in any weather, as opposed to other photographic studios which required the weather to be bright and clear in order to capture the images successfully.
An article appearing in the Wanganui Chronicle on 27 May 1882 described a new plate technique recently adopted by Huff which significantly decreased the amount of time needed to take a photograph. The plates and a new "pneumatic shutter" meant that the sitter did not have to sit still for such a long time as previously required, waiting for the image to be captured. Also, the new mechanism allowed the photographer freedom from having to be near the camera while the photograph was being taken, instead allowing him to position and adjust the sitter then press a bulb which released the shutter and captured the photograph far quicker than anything previously experienced.
The new method saved time and resulted in clearer photographs, not the blurred ones that could be generated when sitters got impatient and moved. Another advertised bonus of this method of photography was increased chemical stability which meant the negative did not have to be worked up immediately after the photograph was taken, allowing the photographer more time to capture photographs during good light and work on the negatives later. Huff demonstrated the method to the reporter who confirmed the speed and efficiency of the quicker photographs, especially when photographing infants, and marvelled that the contraption was not more widely used.
As well as photography and reprints, Huff advertised range of services from his studios. He was the Whanganui agent for the New Zealand Copying Company and offered reductions or enlargements to a range of sizes, and he also hired an artist from Australia who could colour photographs or paint oil portraits from photographs if required. He offered the option of printing photographs on porcelain to prevent fading, and was even the first (and for a long time, the only) photographer in New Zealand to offer the printing and mounting of photographs on watch dials. Huff photographed individuals and families at his studio but also took his camera out and about to capture groups or events and, according to one column in the Wanganui Chronicle in October 1885, would even halt processions on the Avenue to photograph the guest of honour.
Huff displayed samples of his works in the show windows of his studios, allowing potential clients to view the quality of products he could create. Such shows were advertised in the newspaper and no doubt encouraged his trade. He also travelled around the North Island at times to carry out his photographic work, and in 1885 he opened new premises in New Plymouth.
In his personal life, Frank Huff was a brother of the Ancient Order of Foresters and often sang at their gatherings, being reported as having a fine voice. He was a member of the Fire Police and was also involved in the Wanganui Trotting Association.
Despite a seemingly successful trade, Huff applied for bankruptcy through the courts on 20 February 1886 and his assets were auctioned to pay his debts. The Evening Post records F R and Nina Huff leaving for London aboard the Arawa on 25th July 1886, and there is a record of him later working as a photographer in Bethel Township, New York, in 1900. In 1887 Whanganui photographer John Kirkwood advertised that he was taking over Huff’s premises and that he had also purchased the negatives Huff produced and offered copies at reduced prices.
[the above prepared by Sandi Black, Archivist, October 2012 largely from Papers Past http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast]
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