Katsucon 19 Photos
Feb. 28th, 2013 05:46 pmGosh, it only took me two weeks to get them processed, posted, and tagged! That's pretty good, for me!
( Cut for samples and link )Gosh, it only took me two weeks to get them processed, posted, and tagged! That's pretty good, for me!
( Cut for samples and link )"Official totals in attendees: 12,614 ... ... ah mah gahd.... .... ! Blew last year's record of 7250 into absolute reens of smithers."
The Young Lady came home for the weekend. I told her the story about that photo. And she was all "You took that photo???
It is most recently on memebase.
One of my Katsucon photos - the one of the girl in the dress made of Pokemon cards - was posted on a site called Geekologie. In fact, it is still on the front there. That explains why my views count has just exploded, especially on that picture ... .
(The comments on the site are ... interesting.)
The con hotel has a very striking design, with a huge atrium whose westward wall is glass, overlooking the Potomac River. The Gazebo level is charming but full of photographic peril: if you shot toward the glass wall, things are full of glare and all backlit, while if you shoot with you back to that, the walls and floor are all shiny and white: good for some costumes, bad for others. The ground floor of the atrium is an indoor garden, with little streams, pavilions, bridges, and plantings, but it's usually pretty crowded.
As usual, I appreciate any help people can give me in labeling the fandoms and characters. ETA: In this post, I know Grell (far left) and Yuuko (second from right). But if you have patience, take a look at the Flickr set.
I didn't actually spend as much time taking photos as I might have. The gazebo level of the hotel (where I did most of it) looks like a fantastic setting for cosplay photos at first glance, but if you are shooting toward the huge glass wall that overlooks the Potomac, you get horrible backlighting and glare. And the walls and tile are almost completely white, which is good for some costiumes but very bad for others. The ground level of the hotel, with its indoor garden full of little streams, fountains, plantings, and bridges, is actually a nicer setting, but it's crowded with people during the day.
As usual, I appreciate any help people can give me in labeling the fandoms and characters.
Of course, to me, the Four Questions start with Ma nishtana ha-lailah hazeh ... . However, the meme has something a little more personal in mind! It goes like this:
lady_ganesh asked me:
As usual, I would deeply appreciate any help in ID'ing the characters being portrayed. redbrunja, there's a huge group of Soul Eater cosplayers!
( Cut for some of my favorites (small versions) ... )Or just click through to view the sets on Flickr: People and Portraits (including eldanis!) and Large Groups
So the power didn't go out, the costume got made, and we went to the con (Katsucon, that would be ...). And I saw Team Sanada and their amazing group costume (which I swear I saw in a photo a second ago on Sanada's site and now it's not showing at all - God bless the WWW and caching on all levels ...), and bought too much stuff (a couple of Samurai Deeper Kyo pix and a Princess Bride "Inconceivable!" T-shirt and a Princess Bride calendar and the first six volumes of Saiyuki).
And then we misplaced the Young Lady and her friend (they conveniently missed the time for their next check-in), and so they saw Sanada & Co. in the cosplay and I didn't ... and I was so simultaneously spitting nails mad and worried about the girls that I was totally exhausted and nearly skinned them when I found them at cosplay half-time.
But I had a couple of good conversations with some old SCA folks at the art show (they were helping run it) and then caught up with Sanada at the dealers' room on Sunday and we just stood there, schmoozing like crazy, as the bargain hunters eddied about us. And maybe that was the best part.
So now I am reading Saiyuki, which is an interesting contrast with Samurai Deeper Kyo. The artwork is less conventionally attractive but I am learning to like it (and there are lots of online discussions of it - like these here - to help me learn to appreciate it), and the plot is not nearly as involved (much less politics, for one), but the emotional level is more consistently intense, which can be good for me.
I wish there were deep analyses of SDK like these Saiyuki essays!
Heh, found the Team Sanada pic - it resurfaced when I tried the link in my new journal post.
We have one of those very messy Washington D.C. winter storms coming through right now. We sit at the confluence of several climatic zones, a hop-skip-jump from the moderating waters of the Chesapeake Bay, a short drive from the low but still-significant Appalachian Mountains. The difference here between rain and colder, harder stuff is often just a few degrees Fahrenheit, a few miles on the map. Right now, it's snowing. But they're calling for an ice storm overnight.
And I've been having mild panic attacks ... what if we have an ice storm and the power goes out? For days?
I'm not just worrying about the practical stuff - the pipes freezing, how would we keep the bunnies warm - not to mention the family! No, my big issue is how the hell will I finish my costume ?!!!
See, the costume symbolizes so many things. I've been talking about it for weeks. It's my happiness at this con. It's my improved mood over the past couple of weeks. It's my new friendship online. Arrggggh!!!
So life isn't difficult enough, that I've got to do these things to myself?
The library cataloger brought Valentine's Day goodies - cookies, mini-cupcakes - to the office. I've really gotta watch that stuff. Sugar acts as a stimulant, and I'm beginning to see a pattern between blood sugar spikes and panic reactions in myself. It's much worse at night, though.