Zenkaikon 09
Zenkaikon pretty much turned into 'taking pictures of Hetalia cosplayers and meeting new awesome folks'-con, which is something I am quite pleased about! I truly need a zoom lens for group shoots eventually, but for now I am in utter love with 1.8 Aperture. In love.
The day started out slowly, but in a way I managed to stay perfectly on time. I woke up later then I wished, but was confident that the ride would not be too terrible. It was Saturday, and mid-day, and I had done this route before.
Oh the folly of the young and brave!
In the end, driving to the con ended up being the worst part due to some angry drivers on the road and an accident along the way. Worried I would be late, I ended up stepping into the pre-reg line just in time to grab one of the last badges of the day within a few minutes of arrival. thecurtain kindly met me in line, and after line shennanigans were finished, we rolled around Artist Alley and the Dealer's Room, and for the first time in a long time all I spent were 2 dollars on a lovely pin in AA. During this time I met up with thecurtain's friends, teacher, and associates, all of whom I know in some way, and it was wonderful to get a chance to hang out with these lovely folks. I do not see them near often enough!
I was sad to have missed the Hetalia shoot at noon, so of course thecurtain immediately decided we would round up some cosplayers and have another shoot anyway!
Hungary-nee-san incarnate, that woman.
It ended up being a wonderful idea, for there were not many actual pictures taken at the previous shoot, apparently. Even though all the Hetalia cosplayers seemed to have vanished while we tried to find some more of them, we managed to round up a good number of people and absorb some more from a second shoot happening nearby, and it ended up being lovely. Hungry-nee-san nee thecurtain introduced me to Sarah (cosplaying chibi-Austria) and Lauren (cosplaying chibi Prussia)*, and we spent much of the rest of the day running about with them and having a wonderful time.
We hit a few panels, and each one ended up starring people I knew through mostly accident. LamboJim went on a Dating Game and in a weird way Hungry-nee-san also ended up in a matching-game-turned-into-running-joke-about-her, and ended up enjoying the company of CJ aka LOLFilmworks aka the guy that called her Sarah Palin and managed to turn it into a wonderful running joke that slayed an audience of at least thirty. I should have realized the moment he offered to play cards later, and the game was Ratscrew, she would beat him soundly, because I know she is a fiend at those sorts of games and have resigned myself long ago to always loosing with some bare minimum of grace. Revenge was had, and it was hilarious.
Along the way, between point a and b I ran across some of my kouhai from college and I was delighted! Delighted, I say! I ran into them again at the aforementioned panel of Sarah Palin death, and it made me miss school and the people there. I also chatted with a talented gentleman roving the halls and taking photos about camera equipment, and am feeling the hankering for a decent flash and bounce combo. Oh if I could have carried off his lens, I would have. At the very end of it all I helped some con staff clean up a room, where we noticed (this is important) a pair of shoes sitting against a wall. It was sort of strange, so I noted it and went on my way.
As things wrapped up, we snagged folks and said goodbyes to our awesome Austria-and-Prussia pair who need to email me (for if I mention this aloud to the internet, perhaps they will hear) because they are awesome, found folks, lost folks, found folks through serendipity, and then trugged back out into the cold.
...Lo and behold, back at the car, a friend of ours realized she'd lost her sneakers.
I felt karma looming over my shoulder.
"Were they red and grey?" I asked.
"I think so," she replied (or something along those lines.)
"I think they are in the con," I added, and off she went. Luck was with her, the shoes were retrieved, and it was a rather fortuitous end to a long day with good company.
Now to go through and pick out the gems out of the mountain of Hetalia cosplay pictures I have...
EDIT// Select pictures from the shoot can be found here on Cosplay.com.
*Dear goodness I hope I got those right I'm bad at this game
The day started out slowly, but in a way I managed to stay perfectly on time. I woke up later then I wished, but was confident that the ride would not be too terrible. It was Saturday, and mid-day, and I had done this route before.
Oh the folly of the young and brave!
In the end, driving to the con ended up being the worst part due to some angry drivers on the road and an accident along the way. Worried I would be late, I ended up stepping into the pre-reg line just in time to grab one of the last badges of the day within a few minutes of arrival. thecurtain kindly met me in line, and after line shennanigans were finished, we rolled around Artist Alley and the Dealer's Room, and for the first time in a long time all I spent were 2 dollars on a lovely pin in AA. During this time I met up with thecurtain's friends, teacher, and associates, all of whom I know in some way, and it was wonderful to get a chance to hang out with these lovely folks. I do not see them near often enough!
I was sad to have missed the Hetalia shoot at noon, so of course thecurtain immediately decided we would round up some cosplayers and have another shoot anyway!
Hungary-nee-san incarnate, that woman.
It ended up being a wonderful idea, for there were not many actual pictures taken at the previous shoot, apparently. Even though all the Hetalia cosplayers seemed to have vanished while we tried to find some more of them, we managed to round up a good number of people and absorb some more from a second shoot happening nearby, and it ended up being lovely. Hungry-nee-san nee thecurtain introduced me to Sarah (cosplaying chibi-Austria) and Lauren (cosplaying chibi Prussia)*, and we spent much of the rest of the day running about with them and having a wonderful time.
We hit a few panels, and each one ended up starring people I knew through mostly accident. LamboJim went on a Dating Game and in a weird way Hungry-nee-san also ended up in a matching-game-turned-into-running-joke-about-her, and ended up enjoying the company of CJ aka LOLFilmworks aka the guy that called her Sarah Palin and managed to turn it into a wonderful running joke that slayed an audience of at least thirty. I should have realized the moment he offered to play cards later, and the game was Ratscrew, she would beat him soundly, because I know she is a fiend at those sorts of games and have resigned myself long ago to always loosing with some bare minimum of grace. Revenge was had, and it was hilarious.
Along the way, between point a and b I ran across some of my kouhai from college and I was delighted! Delighted, I say! I ran into them again at the aforementioned panel of Sarah Palin death, and it made me miss school and the people there. I also chatted with a talented gentleman roving the halls and taking photos about camera equipment, and am feeling the hankering for a decent flash and bounce combo. Oh if I could have carried off his lens, I would have. At the very end of it all I helped some con staff clean up a room, where we noticed (this is important) a pair of shoes sitting against a wall. It was sort of strange, so I noted it and went on my way.
As things wrapped up, we snagged folks and said goodbyes to our awesome Austria-and-Prussia pair who need to email me (for if I mention this aloud to the internet, perhaps they will hear) because they are awesome, found folks, lost folks, found folks through serendipity, and then trugged back out into the cold.
...Lo and behold, back at the car, a friend of ours realized she'd lost her sneakers.
I felt karma looming over my shoulder.
"Were they red and grey?" I asked.
"I think so," she replied (or something along those lines.)
"I think they are in the con," I added, and off she went. Luck was with her, the shoes were retrieved, and it was a rather fortuitous end to a long day with good company.
Now to go through and pick out the gems out of the mountain of Hetalia cosplay pictures I have...
EDIT// Select pictures from the shoot can be found here on Cosplay.com.
*Dear goodness I hope I got those right I'm bad at this game