The Zeppelin Has Landed - Steampunk Photography

Did goe to Government House ballroom laste friday night for a Steampunk Ball and was greatley amused.

Steampunk is dress-up for adults. Like the Sealed Knot, or the SCA, or the Muzzle loaders - but with the advantage that you can drink and take photographs in character. And the ladies dress up big-time. Unlike Burlesque, I think most of them keep their clothes on, but there is always room for speculation - particularly under a bustle...

The Victorian and Edwardian era had plenty of photographers - and they had a pretty big time of it operating the cameras and the chemistry of the time. Those of our readers who care to poison themselves or participate in explosions are referred to the formula books of the period. Please do not call at the shop asking for glass plates, collodion, or mercury fuming baths, as refusal may offend. Current thinking in photography is very bland, and we are going to keep it that way.

The photographers out on the night worked exclusively in digital, but disguised it. You've seen the Hudson Detective camera on this blog - another chap secreted a digital compact inside a 4 x 5 Cambo and then lit a small studio space with two LED light panels. He was clever enough to put the panels into housings that looked steampunkish and to reflect their light from silvered flaps. I suspect his photos will look a great deal better than mine given the lighting and the steady nature of his set-up.

The rest of the snappers eschewed persiflage and just hauled out their compacts, mirror-less, and DSLRS and shot away. They too have probably been rewarded by more precise images than the Hudson captured, but then they had the advantage of a viewfinder to sight through. The Hudson was all guesstimation. And boy, did I play the ham using it...

Next experiment will be to encase a Nikon DSLR in a suitable studio camera simulation and work out a plausible main/fill/hair lighting setup that can be made to look vaguely Victorian. It may be flim-flam, but it will be fun.