Steam Engines? no.. Steam Pipes? no...Steam what now???

Now at work, or my Day Job as I like to call it, it seems to be sinking in that my photography is not all about the stereotype of taking pictures of scantily dressed girls in studios that may or may not be secret and may or may not be underground ( still don't get that rumour) 

So one of the guys was asking what I have done recently and when I tried to explain about my recent steampunk shoot he got a rather confused look on his face. Or at least he had a confused look on his face until I mentioned it took place at a Victorian pumping station at which point is inner 9 year old boy took over/ he channelled the spirit of beavis and butthead and started to giggle as he only heard the words "pumping station".

Anyway it made me realise that my portfolio is now rather strong in steampunk images (again another wonderful example of how photography and take you to places you never thought of before)  and what is 2nd nature to me now might be confusing to others. Because lets face it when you say anything starting with steam most people immediately start to think of railways.

Which doe conjure a interesting image of stereotypical punks riding a steam train. ( ohh idea for a cartoon) 

But Just what is steam punk? The best and to be perfectly honest simplest definition I have heard ( and lets face it like a certain well known diy item we just want things that do exactly what they say on the tin)  is " Victorian Futurism" .

But lets be honest it I never keep things simple if I can waffle. ( it's my inner historian) 

To put it in a slightly more in depth or complicated way, Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery,especially in a settings that have been inspired by industrialised Western civilisation during the 19th century. Commonly Steampunk is often set in alternative histories of the 19th century's British Victorian era or American "Wild West. Or in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or even in fantasy worlds that similarly employs steam power. And before you ask when they say "wild west" they do mean like in that Will smith film that everyone tends to forget about... other then the theme song.

Right where was I , steampunk features perhaps most recognisably features old technologies or futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them. So you want to fly, you'll need a pair of wings. Want a ray gun? You'll need a lot of wiring and some large tesla coils. Need to see something in the distance, you'll need a lot of lenses arrayed in front of each other, etc, etc, you get the idea.

the depiction of Steampunk is also rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. So if it is Victorian era, you can would see lots of corsets and long dresses etc. If it's wild west, then western frontier inspired clothing and if it's steampunk set in a fantasy world, well the only limits would be the creators imagination.

Other examples of steampunk contain alternative history-style presentations of technology such as airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.

Of course sometimes when I try to explain steampunk people look at me slightly weird and obviously imagine me getting dressed up ( although lets never say never though people :-) ) So I suppose the next best question is why do I like the photographing steampunk?

Well firstly the costumes are amazing, you can guarantee that all are very unique and allow the persons individuality and personality to shine through. Secondly the level of skill and imagination that goes into this costumes is outstanding as most costumes are hand crafted and can feature some surprising components which leaves me in awe.

And lastly but by no means least one of the main things I enjoy is the sheer welcoming and happy nature of the people who attend the conventions and events as they attend to have fun and have to put up with photographers they don't know sticking cameras in their faces. They are also so patient and kind and great fun to talk too.

Of course a handful of photographers can fail to realise this and forget there is a person behind the costume in the rush to get a photography and it's that attitude that will set a lot of photographers teeth grinding as it gives the rest of us a bad name.

But that's their loss as their are missing the chance of getting to know some of the most interesting and fascinating people you are ever likely to meet.

Because there aren't many places where you can get hugged by woman wearing body armour after all :-)