For the past six months or so, my good friend Kelly has been trying to get me to come out to this monthly social extravaganza that takes place just blocks from my house called Dorian’s Parlor. But, unfortunately, the event always falls on Saturday evenings – and I’m typically busy with weddings on the weekends. However, this past weekend the stars finally aligned and I was persuaded to come out and see it for myself. Let me start by saying that I had honestly NO CLUE what to expect. Like, really no clue. Confession: You could have found me googling “steampunk” just a few hours before leaving my house.
Of course, I didn’t dress up or anything… but since the event itself certainly fell into my goal for doing more networking (which is more like a “break-out-of-the-box-and-do-things-you-don’t-usually-do” kind of goal, particularly when it comes to going places where I don’t know anyone), I couldn’t resist playing spectator for the evening. For those wondering, here’s the definition of the group, from the Dorian’s website itself:
Dorian’s Parlor is a lavish and sumptuous evening party inspired by the grandeur of 19th and early 20th centuries. It features music, live performances, fashion shows, and free food.
[Dorian's]…especially caters to people interested in the steampunk, neo-Victorian, and neo-vintage styles.
And, though I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, I’d say about a third of the people there were also photographers (hooray! photographers unite!). And, when you saw the elaborate dress and detail of the people in attendance, I can see why. So, I couldn’t help but share just a couple images from the night… especially since they’re so different from anything I’ve ever taken before. Behold, this is steampunk:
It started with some pictures of the live band.
But this is where it got weird for me. You see, in my line of work I’m used to people paying me to take their picture. Or being paid to be at an event and capture what’s happening. But at Dorian’s it’s different. My instincts were to sink back into a corner, with a long lens on and take candids of the costumes. And, so I’ve been told, that’s not the etiquette-appropriate approach to this kind of thing. So, not only did I have to talk to people, but then I was even going to have to ASK TO TAKE THEIR PICTURE. Talk about ultimate challenge for me. Hah. But, I did get over my hurdle so I could get a few cool images of the attendees. Someone pat me on the back, please.
Check this out… she made that dress herself. Seriously, so cool.
The best part? That wind-up thing was even rotating around. INSANE.
But it’s funny because now that that’s out of the way I feel weirdly relieved. Like “hey, I can do this!” Talking to strangers really isn’t that bad. What about you? Have you forced yourself to totally break out of your realm of comfort lately?
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