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Robert Sullivan is a photography instructor with Photo Workshops Miami.
What the heck is “Steampunk”, anyway? According to Wikipedia, “Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.” Basically, it is an excuse for adults to dress up in Victorian era or Wild-West era clothing, decked out with gadgets, inventions, and weapons from an alternative future that came about as if gasoline engines or nuclear power were never developed. For Robert Sullivan, one of Photo Workshops Miami’s instructors, it is an excellent opportunity to create amazing, cinematic style portraits of elaborately costumed characters.
Robert has been photographing the creative, costumed participants in this genre for several years. Last year, he conducted two, very well attended, advanced off-camera lighting workshops in conjunction with Rivet Nation’s RAIL – A Steampunk Journey event at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, Florida. Afterward, he was inundated with requests for a workshop that would be geared towards beginner photographers as the material that he taught was over the heads of many who would like to get started in off-camera flash photography.
So, this year, he will again be teaching two workshops at Rivet Nation’s RAIL – Steampunk Under the Sea event on April 21st. However, the first of the two workshops will be a Beginner photography workshop to accommodate those who are not yet ready for the advanced lighting workshop later on the same day. Starting at noon, it will a very aggressive 3-hour workshop that will begin with a lecture on the basics in photography. It will progress to shooting in modes other than automatic, and culminate with photographing Steampunk cosplay characters, under Robert’s supervision, in the setting of the locomotives and train cars at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum. It is Robert’s ambitious goal to elevate the knowledge and skill of novice photographers to the point that they will be able to use a single off-camera flash to produce extraordinary portraiture in this 3-hour workshop and leave with some incredible images that they created.
Location: Gold Coast Railroad Museum 12450 SW 152nd St Miami, FL 33177
This caboose has already been relocated for Robert and will serve as the backdrop for the steampunk subjects. It will be the scene of the sunset photo shoot for this year’s advance off-camera lighting workshop.
April 21, 2018 | Lighting Workshop | Gold Coast Railroad Museum | Instructor, Robert Sullivan
Photography Workshops with steampunk and old trains
The second of the two workshops will be a repeat of the advanced off-camera lighting workshop that was so popular last year and will run from 5-8pm (think sunset!). In this advanced, 3-hour workshop, participants will attend a brief lecture of less than an hour followed by the “hands-on” portion in which they will put to work what they learned. Under Robert’s supervision, participants will practice photographing the Steampunk characters with an off-camera flash. This advanced lighting workshop will culminate in a photo shoot using 4-5 remotely triggered studio lights that will be powered by lithium battery packs. Steampunk cosplay characters will pose on and around a colorful antique caboose with the setting sun in the background while participants rapidly adjust their camera settings and studio flashes as they “chase the light” at sunset. Robert will instruct on how to turn an ordinary scene into a spectacular image with a cinematic look, using in-camera techniques as well as his post-processing steps in Photoshop.