1. A day photographing the imaginative and colourful costumes of Steam Punk re-enactors at Avoncroft, Sunday 29th April 2018
Stoke Heath, Bromsgrove

A day photographing the imaginative and colourful costumes of Steam Punk re-enactors at Avoncroft, Sunday 29th April 2018

A full day of photography at Avoncroft Museum near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to capture the colourful and imaginative costume of members of the Steam Punk movement with a backdrop of fine period buildings.

£65.00

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About this event

We are always keen to offer varied and very different photographic opportunities where we can, and for our 2018 visit to Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings we feature the often stunning and always unusual costumes of the Steam Punk movement. 

Steam Punk is not entirely new. Its origins can be traced back to the 1980s, though it is not until relatively recently that the genre has permeated the wider public consciousness, not to mention the Oxford English Dictionary! One of the earlier references is by the science fiction writer Kevin Jater and in broad terms it is a mixture of the old and the new, of a cyber dominated society paying tribute in dress and style to the aesthetics and design ideals of the pioneering Victorian and early Edwardian eras, with a hint of early Wild West America thrown in for good measure.

This is a step aside from our usual attempts at recreating the past as authentically as possible, so falls outside the definition of our period events. However, Steam Punk has strong elements of classic history at its core, whilst taking inspiration from the (then) futuristic writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. For the photographer, it is the lure of the distinctive style and flamboyant costume that attracts the curiosity, bright colours and individualistic ideas that make for futuristic images which in their own way pay tribute to the most creative elements of more modern history. Suspend belief for a while and see what the imagination can create...

This event is open to 25 photographers only. 

Avoncroft Museum was established in 1967 to preserve some of the historic buildings that were at that time being demolished to make way for modern development and were in danger of being lost with no physical record of particular types of architecture.

Five years earlier, in 1962, a local campaign had been started to save a medieval timber frame town house threatened with demolition in Bromsgrove. This building became the first to be rescued, dismantled and reconstructed at Avoncroft Museum, where thirty structures spanning 700 years of history have been rescued and rebuilt on site. These include the famous Danzey Green Windmill dating from the 1830s, the Little Malvern Tollhouse of 1822 and the Nailer’s Cottage of 1840s vintage. Avoncroft Museum is also home to the National Telephone Box Collection. 

The Museum’s buildings are many and varied covering a number of historical periods and we will obviously be using those that best act as a backdrop for our re-enactments during this event. While there are no guarantees, the blossom should be out in the Orchard which will present us with more seasonal opportunities. There is ample free parking on site and a substantial tearoom located near the main entrance. The Museum is just a few miles from Junction Four and Junction Five of the M5 motorway.

Our event will feature a number of characters from the Steam Punk movement who will be posed around the site against various period backdrops throughout the day. We will have a lunch hour of approximately one hour to allow both photographers and our re-enactors the chance for a breather and to ‘refuel’ as well as exploring other aspects of the Museum and its grounds. Start time will be 10.00 though we hope to enter the site a little earlier so that our safety briefing can be done prior to the arrival of the general public and so that we can also begin setting up our cameos in good time. 

There will be some stunning costumes for us to photograph and as with our Ragged Victorians event in October 2017, we will be making the most of not only the backdrops but smoke machines and various other special effects which together will ensure some striking images. 

We hope that you will wish to join us for what promises to be a great day packed with unusual and very different photographic opportunities at this excellent, centrally-located Museum.

Cost will be £65.00 per person

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