Search results for: steampunk

Steampunk: The genre where posers are posers and photographers are loved

Shy of asking if you can take pictures of interesting characters? If so, try visiting a Steampunk event where everyone is just waiting to meet your lens...

Photographers’ playground at Whitby steampunk festival

Never a dull moment in Whitby. From Dracula and Goths to steam punk, there's lots to exercise your shutter at this North Yorkshire seaside resort

Street Photography: Crowds and Cosplay at Comic-con 2024

Comic-con is the world's largest multi-genre entertainment convention, attended by hundreds of thousands of people. But for me, it's all about photographing cosplayers cruising around the nearby streets.

Street Photography: Are you a poser or a snatcher?

In the third article of his beginner's series on street photography, Keith tackles the thorny topic of taking photos of people without asking their permission. Is it best to ask the person to take their photograph, and pose for the camera, or to snatch a candid shot discreetly while no-one is looking?

Independence Day Coronado style

Street photography can be a challenge these days, but being the official photographer-at-large at a major July 4 celebration provides a cast-iron ticket to shoot. Keith took his Panasonic and Sigma gear to see what's doing at the Coronado Independence Day bash...

Pounding the mean streets of Medway

Virus stops play at the many street festivals of the Medway towns in 2020. Regular photographer visitors are reduced to scouring their archives for something new....

A tale of one camera, one lens and a wet weekend in Dickens’ Rochester

Where better to hold s Dickens Festival than the City of Rochester? But Rochester has a surfeit, no fewer than TW0 Dickens extravaganzas, one for the winter, one for the summer. See which characters you can spot on this December outing…..

2017: A Year with the wonderful Leica X Typ 113

Dave was searching for a lighter all-in-one compact and hand't considered Leica. Then he found a beautiful used Leica X at Red Dot Cameras....

Leica M2: Bellamy Hunt tweaks his Patina Edition M

I am normally a great fan of Bellamy Hunt's special Leica editions, as I am of...

Steam-powered iPhone charger

180px-Stephenson's_Rocket Despite my love of the latest gadgets, I do have a soft spot for old mechanical contraptions such as typewriters, trams, cars and, of course, steam engines. So I am grateful to Engadget for news of the latest development in USB-charging power. An enterprising mechanic has harnessed a small steam engine to a generator in order to produce enough power to charge and run any device that can take a USB feed--including our beloved iPhone. Now this is much more fun than simply plugging the thing into the wall socket. It makes a lovely noise and you really get all the visual and audible clues that your device is being charged.


As Engadget says, this could be yet another example steampunk. There has been a recent revival in the construction of fantasy machines which look like Victorian science fiction but often contain modern equipment. An example would be a Mac Mini hidden inside a fantastic re-creation of Charles Babbage's difference engine. 

I rather fancy a replica of Stephenson's Rocket in my garage, powered up to provide light and heat. What a wonderful concept! Come to think of it, that steam USB charger isn't as daft as it sounds. All you need is a drop of paraffin and you have enough power to charge a phone. When all else fails, this could be the answer.