In the local cosplay community, I am in the equivalent of second division, both as a player and as a photographer.
That doesn't mean I'm bad.
Fig 1
It just means that I don't take part in competitions, and I don't take my photography to the level that I'm comfortable doing photoshoots for people.
So basically we go to events whenever we feel like it,
Fig 2
without having to worry about whether they're "worth" going to.
Because here's my secret.
They're all worth going to.
Fig 3
Big or small. It doesn't matter. It's all the same. Everyone's doing their best. And sometimes the best doesn't always work out as well as they expect, but it doesn't matter.
Fig 4
Because, you see, I don't have to chase celebrity players for an image, or fight for a view of the stage and curse and discard a photo because some idiot pops up with his iPhone to block my shot.
Fig 5
I'm free to shoot whatever I want, whoever I want, and I choose, simply, to focus a lot of my attention on people who don't get as much time and attention from "proper", professional photographers.
One group exclaimed "oh wow, you're a photographer?" when they saw my card
(think it was these guys)
Fig 6
and I didn't have the heart to tell them it just meant I had some decent gear and the mindset to use it.
But, judging from their response, they don't normally get decent photographs taken of them. Which sucks, you see, because it doesn't matter how many flaws you see in their performance. You can help them fix them and you can watch them improve
(before my standard "how to draw a katana" briefing)
Fig 7
(after my briefing)
Fig 8
(after a couple of tries, a discussion on how you have to prepare your body to move in a certain way, and a rearrangement of posture)
Fig 9
A lot of the good photographers would rather photograph the celebrities. And a lot of the rest... well. They snap shots of you, sometimes extremely intimate shots, and you never hear from them again.
So to me, I'd rather hang about the edges of the party, where you still meet incredibly talented players
Fig 10.
and the after party
(Jackpot. Yes, those are my guns)
Fig 11
where people fool around a bit
Fig 12
which doesn't mean they can't strike a pose as and when
Fig 13
We are nobodies.
We are everybody.
It doesn't matter. We're all people.
And just because we're not famous, just because we're not professionals, it doesn't mean that we can't create things of beauty.
Fig 14
And it would stupid-- absolutely, wastefully and tragically stupid-- if all we did was look at the stage where the celebrities were being shutterbugged by the guys with the best gear in the world, and miss all the beauty at our backs
Fig 1: Caffeine and myself as two incarnations of Dante, from Devil may cry. Photograph by Genituh photography at Asia Cosplay Meet 2014. full album here
Fig 2: Adam Rick Taylor as Axel Stone from Streets of Rage. Photograph by Black Hat photography (yes, that's me) at Cosfest Christmas 2013 full album here
Fig 3: Xueling and Chibi Mikasa as Mikasa (from Shingeki no Kyojin) and Sailor Jupiter. Photograph by Black Hat Photography full album here
Fig 4: Sebastian Choo, as ?? from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (I think), from the same event as Fig 3, performing in front of Yuegene Fay
Fig 5: My photographs of the stage performance of Asia Cosplay Meet 2014 (Day 2) where the characters were introduced. full album here
Fig 6. Asia cosplay meet 2014 again. Not sure who they are. They have my card.full album here
Fig 7,8, 9: Same event as above. Tiffany Yin cosplaying ??? from Kill la Kill.
Fig 10: Same event as above. Kyubei Chan cosplaying... someone really crazy.
Fig 11: Same event as above. Janet Neo Jia Wei and Areial Sunrunner as ??? from Gundam Seed (I think?) and... someone
Fig 12. Same event as above. Xaoya Sama and... someone. Dunno.
Fig 13: Xaoya sama again.
Fig 14: Caffeine, as a Santarina. Our own, private public photshoot through the heart of the shopping district. It's a story all of its own.You can find it here
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