dappergeeknews101

[dappergeeknews101]

ITS CLOWN WEEK BABY

[dappergeeknews101]

Forever thinking about the most graceless useless stunt cutaway shot in all of television history I love this show

[dappergeeknews101]

[dappergeeknews101]

Ladies, look at your man, now look at me, that’s Seto Kaiba on a horse as the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Source

[dappergeeknews101]

Sailor Moon items in the 1997 Canada Sears Wishbook Catalog. 

[dappergeeknews101]

Anime Expo 2016 Day 2 Pictures : We forgot to upload them to the site

So the pictures were actually distributed a while ago on Instagram and sent out to the cosplayers, but here is small sample of what went on during Anime Expo 2016. 

It was the largest Anime Expo ever and the crowds made getting isolated photos a real challenge. So much so that many photographers voiced started to second guess how they'll take photos next year and cosplayers voiced concerns over the large crowds. Regardless, Anime Expo remains the largest anime convention in North America and is home to some of the best cosplay you'll see anywhere.   

Click here for Flickr link

[dappergeeknews101]

Fashion takes center stage at Nerdcon 2016

Nerdcon celebrated its second convention this year and drew thousands to Escondido in California. There was lots to see during the convention including the Nerd Chic fashion show on both Saturday and Sunday. I managed to sit in during the Sunday show which included designers Rions Originals , Girl with One Eye, 1138 Clothing , Elhoffer Design and Lace and Lore.

Browse through the gallery below to get  look at what new and trendy fashion designs were on stage.

[dappergeeknews101]

Nerdcon 2016 Cosplay!

Hi folks! Long time no read, but here we are again and this time with some cosplay photos from Nerdcon 2016. As always, make sure to click down below for the Flickr link if you want to download any of the images or just browse through the gallery below the link.

For an account of the convention, head over to the main article with an overview. 

Click here for Flickr link

[dappergeeknews101]

Anime Expo Day 1 Photos

Day one of Anime Expo kicked off to a great start on Friday July 1st at the Los Angeles Convention center. Thousands flocked to the convention which would go on to break attendance numbers over the next four days topping out at over 100,000 people.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Anime Expo is a far better convention in terms of the number of cosplayers and the quality than San Diego Comic Con.The only downside is the sheer size of the convention has created a bit of a logistical problem. Countless stories emerged over the weekend complaining about rude staff, narrow aisles in the newly moved artist alley and a severe lack of air conditioning.

That being said, the convention ran relatively smooth for many attendees and managed to showcase the strength of the American anime community to Japanese content creators.

Now, enough of that and on to what we all came here for.Cosplay! As always click on the gallery below or the Flickr link if you wish to download any of the images and see the complete sets.

Click here for Flickr link

All photos by Oliver Ayala

[dappergeeknews101]

Anime Expo Day 0 Pics!

Whoa, it's been almost a month since Anime Expo 2016 and the photos are finally all uploaded and edited.  Needless to say, this Anime Expo was enormous with over 100,000 attendees this year. This represent a 10% increase over last years record breaking numbers.

The convention is beginning to catch up to San Diego Comic Con International in terms of attendance numbers. Just a reminder, SDCC attracts around 140,000 to the convention halls and a few thousand more to the Gaslamp area outside to take part of the free events that don't require a badge.

Regardless, the convention definitely felt the strain of record breaking crowds. We will cover more in the posts to come, so just enjoy a few of the Day 0 photos that were taken.

 Flickr link

[dappergeeknews101]

These cosplayers totally rock Disney Princess bikinis

It's been pretty warm down here in California so that means beach shoots! I managed to tag along with cosplayers Maid of Might, Ashlynn Dae, Milynn Sarley Elizabeth Rage, Hendoart and Reagankmay and got some amazing shots as they tried on the latest entries from Enchanted Bikinis at the Santa Monica Pier. Beach shoots are a tricky thing. The setting is gorgeous, but the giant crowds and sea breeze can cause some issues. Not to mention that switching lenses is asking for an anxiety attack given that my Sony A7RII has its sensor is completely exposed .The thought of a grain of sand getting in there gives me nightmares. 

As for how I shot these, just natural light. LA County isn't too keen on strobes or fancy lighting gear so everything has to natural light. That and because I don't have any fancy lights to begin with. 

I almost always rely on my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1/4 for shooting. I know, why use a 35mm when you have all that clearance to use an 85mm or 70-200m? The simple answer? I just like my 35mm and I didn't feel like changing lenses at the beach for the 3 shots where I wanted my 70-200mm.

 Everything was shot in aperture priority mode and edited in Lightroom and some light work to touch up stray  strands of majestic hair in Photoshop. Keep an eye out for more cosplay pictures and coverage from Anime Expo.

[dappergeeknews101]

These cosplayers totally rock Disney Princess bikinis

It's been pretty warm down here in California so that means beach shoots! I managed to tag along with cosplayers Maid of Might, Ashlynn Dae, Milynn Sarley Elizabeth Rage, Hendoart and Reagankmay and got some amazing shots as they tried on the latest entries from Enchanted Bikinis at the Santa Monica Pier. Beach shoots are a tricky thing. The setting is gorgeous, but the giant crowds and sea breeze can cause some issues. Not to mention that switching lenses is asking for an anxiety attack given that my Sony A7RII has its sensor is completely exposed .The thought of a grain of sand getting in there gives me nightmares. 

As for how I shot these, just natural light. LA County isn't too keen on strobes or fancy lighting gear so everything has to natural light. That and because I don't have any fancy lights to begin with. 

I almost always rely on my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1/4 for shooting. I know, why use a 35mm when you have all that clearance to use an 85mm or 70-200m? The simple answer? I just like my 35mm and I didn't feel like changing lenses at the beach for the 3 shots where I wanted my 70-200mm.

 Everything was shot in aperture priority mode and edited in Lightroom and some light work to touch up stray  strands of majestic hair in Photoshop. Keep an eye out for more cosplay pictures and coverage from Anime Expo.

[dappergeeknews101]

These cosplayers totally rock Disney Princess bikinis

It's been pretty warm down here in California so that means beach shoots! I managed to tag along with cosplayers Maid of Might, Ashlynn Dae, Milynn Sarley Elizabeth Rage, Hendoart and Reagankmay and got some amazing shots as they tried on the latest entries from Enchanted Bikinis at the Santa Monica Pier. Beach shoots are a tricky thing. The setting is gorgeous, but the giant crowds and sea breeze can cause some issues. Not to mention that switching lenses is asking for an anxiety attack given that my Sony A7RII has its sensor is completely exposed .The thought of a grain of sand getting in there gives me nightmares. 

As for how I shot these, just natural light. LA County isn't too keen on strobes or fancy lighting gear so everything has to natural light. That and because I don't have any fancy lights to begin with. 

I almost always rely on my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1/4 for shooting. I know, why use a 35mm when you have all that clearance to use an 85mm or 70-200m? The simple answer? I just like my 35mm and I didn't feel like changing lenses at the beach for the 3 shots where I wanted my 70-200mm.

 Everything was shot in aperture priority mode and edited in Lightroom and some light work to touch up stray  strands of majestic hair in Photoshop. Keep an eye out for more cosplay pictures and coverage from Anime Expo.

[dappergeeknews101]

One year anniversary gallery!

Can you believe it? It's already been one year since I have started documenting conventions and picked up a camera for the first time. It's been a wild ride and the amazing people involved in the cosplay community never cease to amaze me. 

It all started with Anime Expo 2015 and with the recent conclusion of Anime Expo 2016, there is no better time to share these pictures.

To celebrate this, I went ahead and created a chronological timeline of the photos taken over the course of the year along with the name of the convention, cosplayers  and character descriptions.

One year of cosplay photography

[dappergeeknews101]

Cosplayer of the week

Living in Southern California means a convention every week and we aren't starved for amazing cosplayers. As some of you might know, I love to take cosplay photos. The most consistent aspect of this website is cosplay photography. In fact, I regularly schedule and do out of con cosplay shoots. The geeky sanctuaries known as convention centers are great for photos, but you sometimes need to go the extra step to provide environmental backdrops.So, taking that into account, I will now do a weekly feature showing off some cosplayers during  some of these shoots.

The first up is cosplayer Sabrina Nikkol who can be found on Instagram and on Facebook. You can also browse some of the photos taken during our shoots.  

[dappergeeknews101]

Cosplayer of the week

Living in Southern California means a convention every week and we aren't starved for amazing cosplayers. As some of you might know, I love to take cosplay photos. The most consistent aspect of this website is cosplay photography. In fact, I regularly schedule and do out of con cosplay shoots. The geeky sanctuaries known as convention centers are great for photos, but you sometimes need to go the extra step to provide environmental backdrops.So, taking that into account, I will now do a weekly feature showing off some cosplayers during  some of these shoots.

The first up is cosplayer Sabrina Nikkol who can be found on Instagram and on Facebook. You can also browse some of the photos taken during our shoots.  

[dappergeeknews101]

Cal State Fullerton Students thew together a convention and it was a blast

The convention scene is filled with small and large events and there always seems to be a new one around the corner. This past Sunday marked the first Titan Con organized in large part by students of Cal State Fullerton. 

Typical conventions are organized by large entities or have large names attached to them like Stan Lee, but this is a refreshing and charming change of pace. The campus offered ample space and tons of locations for cosplayers and friends to gather despite the gloomy and overcast weather. I'm pretty sure that even more people would have shown up had it not been for the weather and a competing Dr Who event at Disneyland. 

As always, conventions feature loads of talented cosplayers who put their skills on display and have a blast. Make sure to click on the Flickr link to see the full resolution pictures. Make sure to tag us on social media if you share any of the pictures.

 Click here for Flickr link