Images of 2018 Steampunk Convention – Southern Arizona, taken in March 2018.

Steampunk: A subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.

Straight out of the works of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells come the devoted individuals of the Steampunk movement. This is the seventh year that the Old Tucson Movie Studio and Amusement Park has hosted the “Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention” where attendees are treated to discussions, workshops, fashion shows, concerts, exhibits and the site of fellow enthusiasts adorned in their own interpretation of what the genre means, or says, to them!

It is truly an incredible event to attend as you never know who or what you will run into next. One minute it’s a guy with a violin riding a dinosaur and the next it’s the pope; or a British soldier with a gun fashioned out of a clarinet; or a version of Marie Antoinette; or an axe murderer; or a lady in a cage; or Judge Dredd; or a cabaret dancer pushing a stroller; or… One thing for sure it was all fun and everyone there wanted to show off their costume, which made it easy for the photographers in the crowd as all you had to do was look at someone and they would strike a pose. So I took a lot of pictures but one thing I didn’t do was engage many of the participants for fear of them finding out that I was not well versed in the Steampunk scene. There were a few characters that I recognized but of those I didn’t I’m sure there was a tie to some story, fantasy or movie that I just didn’t know about. Who knows what I would have been subjected to if I had been found out…