Post one of “Operation: Get Exploring.” Warning – many photographs!!
I said in my last post that I wanted to make sure I have a damn good time, and things have been pretty lovely recently with friend meetups and birthdays and family time but I wanted to start getting out there a little bit more and getting myself back into my adventuring mindset.
So, last weekend I very definitely got out and went wandering around the Manchester Comicon! I met some fantastic people (cosplayers are literally the best people) who very kindly agreed to let me take their photo. Thank you to everyone who patiently posed whilst I tried to figure out how to focus the lens, and to the much more experienced and super nice photographer who gave me some tips. You are all legends 🙂
For anyone featured in these pictures, please feel free to use them if you wish. Crop them, throw on a filter, anything you like. They are practice shots and I just really appreciated your time and your amazing costume work – you were so much fun to photograph. Crediting back to me would be lovely 🙂
I have to admit it felt a little strange to not be in costume myself, but that’s just because I normally adore any excuse for a dress up and it was so fun to be in a costumed gang last year. You absolutely don’t need to dress up to go to a Comicon, it was about a 50/50 split in terms of who was rocking their normal clothes and who bossed their costumes.
However, as I was wandering alone with my camera for a chunk of the day, I did feel pretty exposed as I’d very firmly put myself in a role where I needed to approach a LOT of new people. Not daunting at all(!!) I really appreciated how lovely everyone was and how open people were to having a chat though, and once I settled into things it was great spending a bit of time getting to know some of the artists whose work was out on display – there were so many secret fine artists and painters hiding in the comic book ranks!
There were some amazing things on offer from all the merch stands – from big companies and small handmade outfits. Artwork, comics, homewares, props, jewellery, plenty of general merchandise, costumes, weapons, games, loot boxes and goodness knows what else and with my limited funds it was seriously hard not to just blow a bundle on half of the stuff there.
It was also fab to meet up with the fabulous Nat and Jordan for a catch-up, and pretty surreal to be wandering around and then have people keep stopping them for a photo. Your outfits were awesome guys, and thank you for letting me tag along with you for the rest of the day and for introducing me to your other cosplay friends – I’m hoping I paid you back handsomely in all the freebie trading cards I accepted on your behalf and I can’t wait for a board game day!
My favourite of the day had to be the couple with the giant Chocobo costume, complete with internal puppetry for the head to move, and in-built bird sound effects. That was a pretty awesome piece of work and my inner theatre designer was itching to see inside to see how it worked.
Others that particularly stood out for me were all the Disney costumes as I bloody love Disney. From Peter Pan, Hook and Tink who were really fun to talk to, to the Disney princesses, and Meg who was really nice too.
And this guy was also really lovely, and I could not believe the amount of work that was involved keeping all those blinking gemstones attached. It would drive me insane but the effect was amazing.
But honestly, the level of detail in ALL these handmade outfits was fab. Cosplayers fascinate me – so much hard work and skill involved for something that, for the majority, is purely just for the love of it.
And that love of all things pop culture, anime, movies, tv, games, Disney, board games, alt-fashion, books and anything else wonderfully nerdy is pretty darn infectious. I left happy, with a full memory card of wonder, fifty gazbillion ideas for my own next costumed caper, and a mahoosive smile.
Thanks guys!
Peace out x
Beyond Paper Stars 