Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 5)

I am lumping these two images together because of the commonality in theme.

Circles are a powerful form and always draw the eye when viewing an image.

When photographing I tend to see in shapes and have trained myself to consciously strip down elements that are nonessential to a point when it becomes an unconscious habit in order to make a stronger a picture.

In practically all of my photographs I have one point of interest.

In these Anachronism photographs I focus on Sasha and the flames that surround her are an extension of the image content and the reason why I am photographing this event.

I have to imagine the flames creating a pleasing form (based on my experience and intuition concerning how light writes on film) in order to complement Sasha.

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 4)

For whatever reason this is the most popular image of the set on flickr. Personally, it does not do too much for me, but there might be a few things about this image that made it garner the most attention.

It is fun to follow the light streaks and have an interesting pattern.

On another level the figure mirrors the design of the tattoo on Sasha's back (angel/devil wings) and it is as if the fire is going to help her take flight. That may be a bit far fetched, but it occurred to me, why not someone else?

It could also be because the lil' bit o' butt illuminated by the fire and the flash, but then if that was the case, I would imagine the image discussed here would be more popular.

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 3)

Fire Vortex

Dragging the shutter can be a tricky thing. You do not want to keep it open too long because the image might become blurry due to exposure; the flash exposed once, but the longer you keep the shutter open the light has more time to collect on the film.

It is a delicate balance.

I think I kept the shutter open for about 1-2 seconds here and this let me capture some amazing circular light trails coalescing into one point.

Sasha's unusual body posturing also injects an element of the exotic into the image, which I feel is a nice compliment to the shape light painting.

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 2)

 
Fire Noir

I have a hard time expressing how fortunate I feel to have captured this image.

I love the S curve of her body.

I love the localized lighting that hints at more.

I love the flame trails.

I love the motion blur that gives the image an ethereal feel.

I love the amount of negative space.

I love that my imagination races.

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 1)

On Sunday, December 4th, I went to the fourth Anachronism event at Webster Hall in New York City.  Holga 120N in tow, I was determined to get some great pictures.

The Anachronism (part IV)

This my last part in this series of entries. Just recalling parts of this event, even after about two weeks have past, brings a smile to my face.



I think this person had this serious of a look throughout the night. The parasol is an eloquent touch and adds a nice backdrop to the image.



I avoided a bluish tinge on the photograph by using a 1/2 CTO gel over the flash head.

The White Elephant Burlesque Society, led by Viktor Devonne (above), closed the evening for me. Joy, exuberance, and abandon oozed from each dancer and put a big stupid grin on my face the entire time. The finest part of their show was when Viktor started controlling a dancer with a video game joystick, but then the dancer got a hold of the joystick, which forced him to start dancing and the look on his face...priceless; he acted like the whole performance was against his will. Absolutely hilarious.

I can not wait until the Slipper Room in NYC opens again as I must inject more burlesque into my weekends.

White Elephant Burlesque Society

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Anachronism (part III)

So apparently there is a steampunk calendar. Lots of these look awesome! Also, it looks like Brooklyn is steampunk central.



I loved her piercings and geisha-esque outfit. This one may be my favorite from the night.



This mime broke character and spoke a few times throughout the night. I think this is a very fun image.

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Anachronism (part II)

anachronism [uh-nak-ruh-niz-uhm]– noun:
something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time

All the people who attended this event must have felt somewhat anachronistic, which allowed people to bond easily, let down their guard, and have a great time. To put it simply: Anachronism III was drenched with super positive energy and I loved it.



Probably the most decked out person at the event was the host: A Count Named Slick-Brass, captain of The A.S.S. Titilus. He was pushing everyone to drink, drink, drink, but drink responsibly. Unfortunately, the success of the event was judged by the bar bill, so in order to have more shows like this one, everyone needed to dig deep into their pockets and buy a couple beers. I enjoyed his hubris and he had a great and anti-politically correct sense of humor. He also won best in show at the cosplay contest, despite the fact he publicly withdrew after showing off his costume to the crowd.



She was heading up the costume contest. Incredibly outfitted in some green devil attire.

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Anachronism (part I)

Last Sunday I attended my first steampunk event, and let me assure you, it will not be the last! I can not begin to adequately elaborate on how much fun I had, but I am going to try.

The adventure began as I was trying to decide on what to wear; blending in is an important aspect in photography (on the street and at events) because it helps lower a person's guard that they might have otherwise had if I wore just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.



I also added a newsboy cap and a chained compass to wear on the vest which gave me an early 1900s look (I think).

Let me tell you: taking a self portrait at f/2.8 is an exercise in exasperation.

The event, held at Webster Hall in NYC, started off a bit slow but picked up speed a couple hours in.

Bands played. Beer flowed. People in costume mingled.

Picture time:



She was a model for the body painter at the event, but I liked her face so much, I shot that instead of the artwork on her back.



This guy was great. I loved his outfit and he sang sea shanties, Irish folk songs, and an interesting interpretation of Led Zeppelin's "Gallows Pole"

He also played this tune by the Pogues:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGL4ZtvDN0o

All of the images on the black and white roll were terribly overexposed, so I did what I could with the levels and think they turned out okay.

Each shot was taken on the old variation of the Holga 120N (the one with only one aperture) and Kodak Tri-X.

That is all for now, but I will be adding more images over the next few entries.

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