The Photography of Angelwing: San Japan 2011
Angelwing’s experience at San Japan 2011, which took place in San Antonia, Texas on August 5th to 7th, 2011, was filled with “very fun, hang out times with friends, doing photoshoots for them and meeting awesome new people.” She tells Nerd Caliber that, “The cosplay contest is an event I rarely go to, but I decided at this con to experience shooting pictures at one. The contest itself went smoothly and was very enjoyable for me to shoot. My whole experience at San Japan was very pleasant, adventurous, and I felt that the con ran very well.
I saw a lot of amazing cosplays at this con. From Jack Skellington to a full size Dalek Strom to a Colossus to the Japanese voice actor of Nabeshin cosplaying as his own character. Compared to last year’s San Japan, I saw a lot more quantity of cosplayers while the overall quality of the cosplays also seemed to be higher. It was a nice and friendly atmosphere.
I think my biggest reason of coming back to this con is because of the location. San Japan takes place right along the riverwalk. It’s the biggest attraction to the city and it is such a beautiful place to take photos especially with the Spanish architecture. San Japan 5 takes place August 10-12, 2012 and is moving just a couple of blocks to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center which is the biggest and best place to hold a convention in the city. I’m excited to see how San Japan grows in the future. :D”
ANGELWING’S TOP THREE FAVORITE SHOTS AT SAN JAPAN
– Holly Gloha as Hinoto from X/1999
The home of this year’s San Japan, the Marriot Rivercenter hotel, had a Spanish restaurant with this lighted candled background. It was a really attractive sight to the eye that I had to use as a background. The red and white color scheme of the cosplayer’s outfit seems to compliment the color in the background mixed with the dramatic expression.
– The Turtle Hermit, sasukekun5, Vendrega as Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura from Naruto Shippuden
The poses in this photo is an attempt to mimic a scene from the manga. This photo was taken alongside the riverwalk a block away from the hotel in a rare moment where the sidewalk was not occupied by tourists. It made things a bit difficult to take pictures due to the walking traffic and the amount of curious people who stopped these cosplayers to take photos with them. We all had a blast though. ^^
– Maniac Red as Raider NPC from Fallout
To be able to fit the post-apocalyptic mood of this series brought us to the parking garage of the hotel where I shot this against the far wall of the lot. The way the light is exposed along with the intense expression of the cosplayer and pose is what makes this one of my favorites from the con.
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Judy Escalante (aka Angelwing) and her amazing amount of work can be found at her website Falling Feathers. You can also see her deviant art page here. If you are interested in doing shoots with Angelwing you can send her an email here. San Japan introduction by Judy Escalante. Quickly edited by E. Ortiz. All pictures in this article are by Judy Escalante.
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