Angelwing’s Photographic Adventures at Anime Matsuri 2012

Anime Matsuri 2012 returned to The Woodlands, TX over Easter weekend this year. I felt so ecstatic about the return to this hotel and location. My first Anime Matsuri in 2010 was also located here and I had such a good time shooting. The combination of the architecture, river and trees all in the backyard of the hotel make me love this place.

I started my first shoot of the day before noon. I knew about this tall cemented stairway and wall area. Nostalgia hit me when I saw this because the last time I was here was when I had a good Blazblue shoot in the same location two years prior. It was almost high noon so there was beginning to be less shadows and more sunlight hitting the walls. I wanted to place my subject in the shadows and use my flash to fill the light.

I gave myself a break after my first shoot to give time for my boyfriend and me to unpack the car. There had been some hold on a lot of hotel rooms not being ready yet, but fortunately ours was clean and I made it just in time for my second shoot of the day. My next shoot was human versions of the main characters in The Regular Show. Along the sidewalk of the river in the backyard of the hotel, there is a short domed shaped tunnel. One of my favorite spots to shoot is at the end of this tunnel. The natural light that hits this spot in the large part of the day in combination with a little fill light from my external flash is just gorgeous.

I had a photoshoot that was a little different than what I’m used to. Usually the age of the cosplayers I shoot were always in their teens or older. This time I had earned a little experience with shooting someone even younger. I lucked out because she was very photogenic. What was also neat is that they were cosplaying characters who are cousins and these two cosplayers are cousins in real life.

During my next shoot, I had this cosplayer come up to me. He noticed I was a photographer and he offer me a job to take pictures of Spiderman. I responded with “Yes, of course!” His next question was if I was any good, so I showed him some of my pics I had just taken. He said I sucked and fired me! I laughed because the cosplayer is actually my friend Ben who makes such a great impersonator of his character. He approves of this picture too. ^^

My last cosplay shoot of the day took place in a small Japanese garden behind the hotel. I did not know about this place from the previous time, so I was so glad I had found out about it. It seems like a popular place to be. At the time I did this shoot there was a professional photographer there with a client taking portraits.

I decided to try something new and shoot a fashion show for the first time at this con. This particular show was centered around Lolita fashion which I am a fan of. Anime Matsuri was able to get designers from Baby The Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates in the show. I did not want to miss the opportunity!

After an almost three hour drive that morning and a full day of shoots and an empty stomach, I was ready to retire for the night.

Saturday morning arrived quickly. I was really excited about my first shoot. It involved the girls at FoxyCosplay and their costumes were Clare and Teresa from Claymore. It is a series I’ve been following shortly after the first chapters came out. The craftsmanship involved was magnificent. I could see my own reflection in it!

Anime Matsuri also hosts Import Reactor, which is a car show that shows Houston’s top cars. They had something special this year. If you look at the three cars on the top of this picture, the middle may look familiar. I heard it was the actual Batmobile they used in the recent Batman movies! I wish I made time to see it up close.

My shoot before the contest was two vocaloid cosplayers that I’ve known for more than two years now. They are the cutest! We took most of our shots under a bridge.

The girls even brought beautiful violins as props to use during the shoot. This particular pose was my favorite. Thanks to Tricia for suggesting it!

It was time for the cosplay contest. It was hosted by Matt Mercer. I was excited because photographers got a front row seat aside from the judges table being right in front of us. The previous cosplay contests that I have been at I’d either have to stand or sit on the floor, which I’m not complaining about because I still got to photograph the contest up close, but this was nice. I put on my Canon 70-200 L f/2.8 lens and enjoyed the show through my camera’s viewfinder.

There were a lot of entries and I was really impressed with the overall quality of costumes. I have been going to anime conventions since 2004 and it’s an amazing thing to see over time how cosplayers are getting more and more talented at what they do.

My last shoot of the convention was with FoxyCosplay. This was the only night shoot I did at this convention. I wish I did more though because this convention area is the most wonderful place to shoot at night. About a block or two from the main hotel area, they have this beautiful fountain that changes color. Using my Canon 50mm f/1.4, I ended up getting some really satisfying shots here.

Anime Matsuri 2013 will be returning to the gorgeous Woodlands on March 29-31, 2013. My experience there was very enjoyable and I can’t wait to shoot there again next year!

Click here to check out the rest of my gallery of my favorite photos of the convention. You can see the whole set of my Anime Matsuri 2012 photos on my website here!

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