Steampunk : Dereliction Revisited

This is Part Two, of my blog on Dereliction - a sub-genre of landscape photography.

A while back we visited the small coastal town of Oamaru, on New Zealand's east coast. We stumbled serendipitously into the delightful Victorian building that is the Steampunk HQ. Within it's rustic walls is an eclectic collection of recycled industrial art and sculptures. Outside the museum is a full-scale steam train engine that spits fire and billows smoke - a perfect example of retro-futuristic sci fi art.

Steampunk is a quirky and fun genre of science fiction that features steam-powered technology. It is often set in an alternate, futuristic version of 19th century Victorian England. The Steampunk future is driven by unusual steam powered devices – the ‘world gone mad’ as Victorian people may have imagined it.

This Steampunk universe exudes a wonderfully warped sense of humour – and is perfect for shooting abstract photos of dereliction.

My challenge was to get close enough to eliminate distracting objects. Sometimes there were too many interesting items together. Composition was key, as I made minor adjustments to my position to get the right angle.

In post-processing, I used the excellent Nik Effects to add a touch of HDR, bringing out the texture, and adding warmth. (Download FREE here.)

Below is a gallery of my Steampunk images. I hope they put a smile on your face.

Please comment below. :-)