Thursday, August 30, 2012

Steampunk Interruption!

Earlier in the spring Andrew and I decided that it might be nice to have some updated photographs taken. Our eighth wedding anniversary is coming up in October, and we haven't had pictures of just the two of us taken since then. When I googled Edmonton + photographer I received 1000s of results, so I turned to Facebook to see if anyone could make a recommendation. As it turned out, I had five suggestions within an hour, then I very slowly set about checking them out. In the end, we decided to go with a friend of mine who I went to library school, Crystal Budgell of Willow Lane Photography.

As we talked with Crystal, describing what we'd had in mind, I mentioned we might like to take some pictures in our Steampunk costumes. This provoked a very excited response and we were told that if we were willing, a photographer friend of hers, Donna Lewis of Donna Lynn Photography would love join us for the shoot. Since neither Andrew or I are camera-shy, our response was, the more the merrier. So, one Friday night in July we got together in Ezio Farone Park in Edmonton and took some pictures.

There's 85 photos on the CD I received, which is obviously WAY too many to  include here. Unfortunately I'm not sure who took which photograph as they were all put together on one CD, but both Crystall and Donna we fun, friendly, yet professional.





A few quick notes about our outfits if anyone is wondering. I used to sew, many, many years ago, but I was pretty sure that it would be just a waste of time, money, and fabric if I tried to make my own costume now, so I turned to Etsy. The outfit (shirt, corset, bustle and skirt) came from loriann37 (about a year ago), although it would seem she is currently on holidays. I picked the fabric combo I wanted, then sent my measurements to Lorianne and received my package maybe a month or six weeks later. My hat is from a store in West Edmonton Mall (by the pirate ship), alternately, my flower/feather hair piece came from Roberta's Hats in Victoria. My gloves are from Sanctuary in Edmonton off Whyte and my bag is my regular purse (Fossil--from a few years ago). The pendant I'm wearing is also an Etsy find from feverbloom.

Andrew's ensemble for the most part is just regular menswear put together in a stylish fashion (or so I say, since I was the one who went into the closet and said: 'what about these together?'). The vest and pants are Le Cheateu, the shirt R&W Co (I think, either that or Tip Top). The boots are unisex Clarks from a few years ago (purchased for a Captain Mal costume) and his hat is also from Roberta's. The goggles came from the Theatre Garage in Edmonton.

I'm hoping to build on these costumes in the future, namely by adding a ray gun and goggles (tutorials available at epbot.com).

Finally, if you've come for the steampunk, why not stay for the story? Head here for: Chapter 1, Part 1 to begin reading the adventures of Nora Watson, the heroine of my young adult, speculative fiction story.