Tuesday, February 21, 2012

MegaCon 2012 Best Shots

I've kept you all in suspense long enough, so here they are: my favorite costumes from last weekend's MegaCon. Enjoy!

Sonic/Mario mash-up!

Pretty steampunk ladies: Catwoman, Harley, and Poison Ivy


The resemblance is uncanny.

At one point we happened upon a whole busload of Disney princesses coming in through a side entrance, and the light was just perfect:

You can't see the shell in her hair, but this is Ariel.

Possibly my favorite shot of the whole con:

Like I said: the light was just perfect. It was also a mini miracle that the crowd cleared right at that moment.

[Update: Alyssa in the comments pointed out that both Snow White & Ariel are based on the Disney Princess Designer Dolls - and their costumes are a perfect match! So cool!]

It's not a con without Furries!


Not a costume, but I forgot to include the Ecto-1 and Blues-Mobile in yesterday's post:


My girl-crush of the weekend:

Clearly I'm not the only one - check out the guy's face in the background. Hee.


Ok, remember our friends Chris & Christie? Christie's the one who won the Dragon*Con Comic Book Babes contest last year. Well, on Friday she and her sister Robyn cosplayed two Anime characters named (I am so not making this up) Panty and Stocking:

To go along with the outfit (and I would assume this is a story-line thing) Christie also had removable hot pink underwear:

She had on shorts underneath, but the guys didn't know that, so each time she'd pose this way guys would race around behind her to try and get an upskirt pic. Which is both disgusting and kind of funny.

On Saturday Christie and Chris went as Harley and Joker:

Chris prides himself on having a completely screen-accurate costume, and it's fascinating to hear all the time and effort that went into it. Things like the orange lining on his jacket, which most people will never see, and that the second button on his vest is never buttoned, because that's how Heath Ledger wore it.

In fact, here's my second-favorite shot of the whole con:

Pics like these are why I love conventions: the entire process from taking it to tweaking it to posting it online is pure joy for me.

Chris & Christie were actually part of a large group of friends cosplaying Batman villains that day:

That's Christie's sister Robin as Catwoman, and Robyn's boyfriend Dan as Bane (in the face mask.) The Penguin is Chris's Nerdgasm co-host Andre. They're all incredibly laid-back and sweet people, and it was hard not to brag to everyone in sight that, yeah, I'm totally friends with them. ;)

Speaking of which, I actually met Christie through my Epbot post on last year's MegaCon; I posted a picture of her and Robyn in costume and she sent me an e-mail introducing herself. I've met several fellow geeks that way, and I love it.

Ok, back to the costumes!

Something about this photo - especially the lower half - makes it look like a comic book drawing. Nifty.


The cutest gal MegaMan *ever*:


And now, zombie Leia & Stormtrooper:

She had freaky yellow eye contacts in. Freeeeaky.


I heard later that these guys won the Judges' Choice in the costume contest:

The guy playing Shaggy is especially perfect.


Here's an amazingly adorable Princess Zelda:


And an elegant GLADOS:


Not sure who this guy is, but I thought the pic turned out great:


Boring technical note:
This was our first time trying out a wide-angle lens at a con, and WOW did that help. You could literally stand three feet away and get the entire body shot, from shoes to pointy hats, in frame. It's perfect for big crowds when you don't have room to back up. We experimented with the lens on different cameras, and sadly John's Canon 10D (which is supposed to be a better camera) didn't have a quick enough sensor for the low light in the hall, meaning most of Saturday's shots are quite blurry. My trusty old Canon Rebel XT, though, worked like a champ. Yeah. Take THAT, more expensive cameras!


Another Batman group.

John's latest game obsession is Borderlands, so he was thrilled to spot these characters from the game:


Only at a con:



And finally, as we were leaving on Sunday we spotted this whole family of Jedis, and I'm not gonna lie: I totally teared up.

That little girl in purple is about to mess. you. up.

Rock on, little padawan. ROCK ON.



Want more great costume pics? Of COURSE YOU DO. So head on over to my Flickr set to see over a hundred more; there were just too many good ones to include here!

27 comments:

  1. I think the Jedi family broke me. Too. Much. AWESOME!

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  2. I couldn't swear to it, but that lizard looking guy *might* be an Unas, from Stargate SG1. And the cutie in the yellow looks like Silk Spectre from Watchmen.

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  3. Beautiful photography! You're right, the lighting was perfect! I think my favorite shot is of "Ariel" - the simplicity of the floor behind her really makes the color pop (just need to photoshop/crop those couple pairs of legs out of the top edge and it is perfection).

    Thanks for sharing with those of us who couldn't be there!

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  4. Man, I'm so sad I didn't see Silk Spectre! Girl is dead. On.
    I do have a few pics of your friends though, ha! And you can tell the joker I totally noticed and appreciated the unbuttoned vest :)

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  5. Great photos! Thanks for sharing them with us. What are the cute little furry fox characters?
    Jedi family is fantastic! It's cool that they made the con a family event.

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  6. What Amanda said, I'm pretty sure that's an Unas from Stargate SG-1. Specifically, one of the slaves from that episode where Daniel learns "chakha" (sp?) means more than a name. He always was so great with languages. *sigh* Great pics!

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  7. Have to put this in: the two Disney Princess girls are actually cosplaying the Disney DESIGNER Doll collection that was released last year. Each Princess was made over in a sort of high-fashion/retro way and made into a collectable doll. They were gorgeous and created a huge sensation (not always good, the collectors got a little nuts over buying them and Disney made a few errors)

    So yes, those are pretty much exact replicas of the dolls. From hair (and the seashell in Ariel's hair) to jewelery to dress.

    I immediately shared them with my Disney Store castmembers and they were all super impressed by the detail. :)

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  8. Alyssa, I had to go google those dolls - and wow! You're so right! That makes me appreciate their costumes so much more - thanks for the tip! (The only other dress I saw in that style was Tiana, but I wonder now if there were more that I just didn't recognize!)

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  9. The Jedi family is totally full of awesome and win, don't get me wrong. But why not strap some Yoda ears to the baby and put her in the backpack to really stop traffic?

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  10. These are GREAT! Reading all your convention posts has inspired me to finally get my butt down to Dragon Con this year. SO looking forward to it!
    Have you guys tried an adjustable flash? I just got an adjustable flash for my Nikon and it has seriously changed my life. I can bounce the flash off the ceiling and take really nice photos in the dark, practically. Anyway, I really love my flash. That is all.

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  11. I dunno what a "Unas" is, but that guy is Killer Croc
    from Batman

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  12. OMG! The little purple Jedi is so cute! The baby in the picture is staring right at her with the perfect "She'll really do it! Don't tempt her!" expression! Amazing photographs - love living the cons through your photos!

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  13. I totally want to be the little girl in purple's friend. She'd be an awesome bodyguard. :)

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  14. Hey, Jen--pinned the Jedi family to my Geekerie board at Pinterest (credited you, of course). Since you're blowing up the boards over there (yay!) can you add a Pin it button somewhere?

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  15. Aaaaaaand now I must get married and procreate so I can have my own Jedi family. Awesome pictures!

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  16. Just a tidbit about Panty's panties. They actually turn into her gun (Strapless). Stocking's stockings turns into her swords as well. The show is hysterical in a very dirty way, and the costumes are dead on.

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  17. Terrific pics - thanks for sharing. I've got to get to a con again one of these days. Seeing Panty & Stocking reminded me of this music vid from last summer's London Film & Comic Con. It's worth a look - tons of awesome costumes and people having fun. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KmoKOrKJvk

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  18. Killer Crocks body, with an Unas face. (:

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  19. I just got into Borderlands last year myself! It's a great game! The Borderlands costumes were dead on! Does John know that the Borderlands 2 trailer just came out yesterday? The trailer is AWESOME! :D

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  20. Oh gosh those costumes are great! My fave is the Joker and the ones from Borderlands. We're in our second playthrough of Borderlands right now so it was neat to see someone's take on the characters.

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  21. These are all great! I love the steampunk batman ladies. Not gonna lie, after the how-to posts and the steampunk jewelry finds, these are some of my favorite posts from you.

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  22. I'm not into comics. Or cons. Or... yeah. But I still found your pics oh so neat-o and entertaining! :D Would I brave the crowds to see these fine folks? no. But I will click on your flickr link because the more I scroll, the curiouser and curiouser I get. Thanks for sharing... your commentary is perfection.

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  23. Aww, man. I didn't worry about pictures, sure that yours would be better, but you missed the big armored dude who had to walk funny because his feet were encased in armor -- I asked Husband, he said the guy was from Warhammer. It was so great!

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  24. That guy that in the unlabeled photo is most definitely Killer Croc from the Arkham games. I've played it enough times to recognize that face (and outfit) anywhere. :)

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  25. These are all absolutely amazing, especially Chris & Christie (and their pals!), but I just had to say:

    Is it just me or is the gal playin' Ariel WHITE AS A FREAKING GHOST!? I'm EXTREMELY pale (I hardly ever go near the sun because it destroys my soul, not joking), and she makes ME look dark. I'm just wondering if I'm just hallucinating because I'm running on no sleep or if she really is just brilliantly WHITE? And that didn't look like makeup, 'cause it's everything. And I'm not really sure WHY she'd go that pale intentionally since Ariel was never particularly pale (bein' a surface aficionado and all).

    For the record: I am NOT criticizing her. She looks so lovely, it's almost heartbreaking. I've just never seen anyone that naturally pale and think it's kind of incredible.

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  26. @ matdredalia - I did bump the photo exposure up, which might make "Ariel" look extra pale, but you're right: she almost matches the white floor tiles behind her!

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  27. I think that beautiful Princess Zelda costume needs some more love. Look at some of those details in the dress and accessories, plus it looks so much like the actual character.

    I of course love the Star Wars family. We did the same thing ourselves last year. I guess we were all Jedi if you count Princess Leie as being a Jedi.
    (http://papernapkinsontheedgeofinsanity.blogspot.com/2011/10/geekgirlcon-pictures.html)

    So the SW Jedi family makes me smile with nostalgia. It's a great reason to have kids :)



    Also, Jen, I hate to say this bugged me, but it did and now I feel like a geek grammar Sith. It's Jedi for singular and Jedi for plural. There is no Jedis. :)

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