Taking some of today's technology and setting it into the style and context of the 1800s or even early 1900s is part of what really fascinates me about the steampunk genre. Imagining how some of the inventions that exist now would have looked if they had been crafted back in the time of horse-drawn buggies and top hats lends itself to some interesting themed photography scenarios. Since themed photography is the direction I have taken over the past year or so, I decided it was time to experiment with things steampunk style.
Steampunk costumes and props are crazy expensive, but many of the elements are easy enough to make at home. The internetz are bursting with steampunk DIY tutorials and blogs that explore all the weird little complexities of the genre. I'm not a big fan of anything sci-fi (and I particularly dislike Star Trek), but I guess this is different enough that it sparks my interest, partly because I enjoy reading books set in the 1800s and early 1900s.
After some research I figured we could make the props easily enough, so we gathered up the materials and started making the props and costume. Cynthia made the dress after gathering some ideas on Pinterest and she tailored it to our model's (Heather) measurements.
We bought a cheap squirt gun at Kmart and with some paint we turned it into a nifty, complicated-looking contraption.
The goggles were made from safety glasses, frozen lemonade cans, a parmesan cheese lid and a few other odds and ends.
Next, we lined up a makeup artist and hairstylist (Olivia) and scheduled a day to do the shoot. Olivia has had a lot of experience and spent time in New York doing the makeup for some productions out there before coming back to CR. She was ready to update her portfolio with something more offbeat like a steampunk shoot, so she agreed to do the makeup and hairstyling at no charge in exchange for using the photos from the shoot.
Since Heather lives in Des Moines, we picked a day that she had free so we wouldn't have to rush it. The hair and makeup took hours to complete, but it was worth the trouble! We had scoped out a few new spots to shoot, which always helps with the creative spark (plus it gets boring to always shoot in the same places) and we headed out.
The sun was setting, so we shot outdoors first while we still had some golden sunlight.
There are so many interesting places to shoot around CR, and I keep discovering more nifty spots that are off the beaten path. I think I've found a new favorite location!
