The Photography of Angelwing: Ikkicon VI
Ikkicon VI took place in the heart of Texas at its capitol in Austin over the New Year’s weekend (December 30, 2011 – January 1, 2012). The setting of the con was at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center located on the University of Texas campus in downtown Austin. I arrived there early Friday morning to my hotel room which shows a nice view of the courtyard, where most of the cosplayers had gatherings and was the hot spot for photo taking.
I arrived at the con a bit early than usual to make it in time for my first private shoot scheduled at 11 AM. I had a wonderful group of Panty & Stocking cosplayers. Most of this shoot was taken in one of the seating areas in the lobby of the hotel that had an enormous window which I used the ambient light from it to my advantage.
The rest of my planned shoots of the day started from there which all turned out wonderful. I was skeptical about the location at first. But the cosplayers and I were able to find spots around the con center for photos that were secluded enough to get good backgrounds. For one of my shoots, I got to explore a few blocks outside of the conference center to find a beautiful luscious green scene with cosplayer DugFinn for her Pokemon Trainer White shoot.
My favorite shot of the day on Friday was taken with the awesome Holly Gloha as Catwoman in the convention center’s courtyard.
About a month prior to the con, I was asked by the Ikkicon cosplay manager, Ian, to host the cosplay photography panel, which I accepted. I was naturally nervous about it since I’ve never done a panel before, so I dragged Lemon-ikon photography and FilmShooter into too. We pulled together a successful panel and shared what knowledge we had on photography to the con goers and had a lot much fun doing it. ^^
Saturday’s first shoot was with cosplayer Margot la Rue as Sakura from the Naruto Shippuden: DragonBlade Chronicles videogame. I suggested going into the depths of the University of Texas campus for this shoot. Prior to the convention, I looked up Google Earth’s imaging galleries for shoot spots around the convention center and saw a lot of potential on campus with the large amount of huge oak trees and lovely architecture. We weren’t disappointed. The long outside corridors and grand stairs was a nice change plus they were empty due to the winter holidays.
My next shoot was a fun challenge. It was my first time shooting cosplayers Holly Gloha and Machii Valentine along with a many other photographers at the same time. It was a tricky situation to be mindful of the other photographers. The hardest part was to try to catch the eyes of the cosplayers at the right time because there was so many of us it can be confusing for them on where to look!
The cosplay contest started that afternoon. This was Ikkicon’s first time at this venue and unfortunately the accommodations for it wasn’t able to provide a large enough space for the main events room so the convention rented a large tent. The inside lighting and background was not very appealing for photo taking so a couple of photographer peeps and I decided not to shoot it. However, the Ikkicon staff was so wonderful and gracious that they worked with us and set up a little booth in the courtyard for Lemon-ikon Photography and I for any cosplayer and participant in the cosplay contest for a chance to get photos. They even gave us free water bottles. I felt so spoiled!
Night photography at the con was pretty difficult. There was only one spot along the front entrance to the con center that had the best light I could find in which we had a great Madoka night shoot there.
My favorite shot taken Saturday.
It was the night of New Year’s Eve and I was ready to take a break from my camera for the day and spent the rest of the holiday evening with friends. We drove past the famous 6th street in downtown Austin and ate a nice Mongolian Grill restaurant ringing in the New Year.
Sunday’s are always hectic with the checking out of rooms and con goers leaving. This was the day I had set aside myself time to enjoy what the con offered and explore the artist alley and dealer’s room. I had only one shoot this day which we went to the University of Texas campus. It was past high noon, which is one of the hardest times to shoot photos, but cosplayer’s Lee and Skunx of Nekomata cosplay and I were able to find a shaded spot of stairs to take what ended up being our favorite shots of the shoot.
Below is a gallery of my favorite photos of the convention. You can see the whole set of Ikkicon VI photos on my website at http://www.fallingfeathers.net/photography/ikkiconvi/ikkiconvi.htm
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