Jan and I headed down to Wondercon in Anaheim for a lovely weekend of panels, cosplay-watching, geek shopping, and more. I took along my Nikon D500, along with several lenses, and had a field day shooting cosplayers. I certainly loved the energy and enthusiasm that went into these designs. And the ages ranged from small children to people clearly older than me.
I mostly shot with the 16-80mm f/2.8-f/4, but also used the 70-200mm f/4 to good effect. I pulled out the 85mm f/1.8 for a bit, and should have used it more, but got a little lazy. I also used auto-ISO, but limited the top end to 25,600 and the shutter speed to a minimum 1/100th second.
I have to admit to being a bit shy. Next time out, I’m going to talk with the cosplayers a bit more. Being shy meant I missed some good photo opportunities, including some excellent Kunari / Dragon Age cosplayers. I really need to get over my relative inability to approach strangers, especially people who clearly love to talk with photographers.
We also hung out with David Bryant (@david_bryant on Twitter) and his wife, Elaine. David co-hosts the Improbable Insights podcast with me and is a veteran of fan conventions. We all attended Wondercon the last time it was in Anaheim, but skipped last year’s Los Angeles show. While I’ve attended my share of tabletop gaming cons, these fan conventions represent something new to me. The Anaheim convention center provides a great venue, though the Hilton — the “official” hotel — was less enthralling. Still, a great time was had by all, it seemed.
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- The witches still hunt for Kubo
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- Roll Dem Bones
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- You’re never too old…
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- Cowpunk
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- Big and mean-looking
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- Shouldn’t they be fighting?
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- Wait, what?
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- Empire recruits
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- Pink Chewbacca
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- Moana and the Demigods
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- Agents of Shield Cast
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- War Boy and Friend
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- Ouch!
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- Circe Glares
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- Cosplayers everywhere
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- Rick and Morty Cosplay
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- Everyone Cosplays!
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- Alt-Black Panther?
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- Gender-bending Cap
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- Evil Angel
