Posted: April 27, 2017 at 5:52 pm / by Steve Heineman / comments (1)
Convention Reviews
C2E2 2017 Recap: The Cosplaying Photographer
SUNDAY
Sunday morning hit me like a truck. Once again, anticipation kept me from getting any restful sleep. However, our mistakes regarding food from the previous day would not be repeated. I defeated my massive headache and sore legs with a huge bowl of cereal and my trusty ibuprofen. A sizable shot of caffeine later, Justin and I were ready to experience the awesomeness of Sunday at C2E2.
Our first priority of the day was a spotlight panel with Vincent D’Onofrio. Vincent is such an impressive actor, playing a massive range of characters in so many memorable films and television shows. He shared stories about working with Stanley Kubrick and getting his big break in “Full Metal Jacket”, and a few funny memories from his performance as Edgar in “Men in Black”. Vincent also spoke about his process for playing Wilson Fisk in Marvel’s Daredevil. I wholeheartedly respect how much work he puts into every single character he plays, and was grateful to see him talk about it in person.
After the panel, we headed straight for the floor. Navigating the aisles took a lot longer than Wizard World, partly because of all the awesome cosplay to shoot. We met with our cosplaying friends Benjamin and Amanda, dressed as the popular gender-bending duo of Slave Leia and Han Solo. They put on a hilarious and sexy show for the cameras, and introduced us to their friend Berdie, who made a great Jyn Erso!
Not long after seeing the slave swoon over the roguish smuggler, I found what I’d been looking for: a great Nuka Cola pin to represent my awesome experience at C2E2. Clutching it as closely as a badge for the Chicago Pokémon Gym, I secured my loot inside my camera bag and continued on my journey to catch all the cosplay photos I could.
I decided on no vault dweller costume for Sunday, but was pleased that so many con-goers still recognized me in street clothes. Justin and I split briefly to cover the lobby, and I once again ran into Thousand-Faces Cosplay, this time putting on a show as classic Harley Quinn and The Dark Knight Rises Bane. Once again, the cosplayers were at the top of their game, giving me some great shots for the gallery. Once my phone was in Harley’s hands, she couldn’t resist stealing it for a quick selfie. I love seeing these two at cons, and hope to keep running into them.
I met up with fellow photographer Pat Dyer, and we made our way from the lobby back to Cosplay Central to meet up with Justin and Victori Belle for an interview. Victori was dressed as the deadly sin of Sloth, yet was colorful and stunningly beautiful as always. Having not been able to speak with her for long on Saturday, we caught up about the con and her previous day’s experience as the Deathpact Angel.
As we discussed our strategy for an interview with Tori, she mentioned her reporting experience and kindly volunteered to conduct one with the wonderful Ivy Doomkitty – a headlining cosplayer who hosted a great panel on cosplaying positivity. While Justin and Tori took care of the interview with Ivy Doomkitty, I left to photograph some more great cosplayers. I ran into Rob Fury (creator of The Age of the Geeks) and Mary Stephens (Mpoppins Cosplay) – who took 3rd place in the needlework category of the C2E2 Costume Contest for her spectacular Duchess Satine costume.
In the excitement of being accepted into the cosplay community, and getting more interviews, we unfortunately lost track of time and weren’t able to get to the main stage in time to attend the Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter) panel.
The floor closed literally minutes after our last interview. We quickly snapped some pictures with Ivy for social media, and started our trek out of McCormick Place. We were invited by Tori for dinner, and I suggested Giordano’s for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza. We arrived in time to meet up with James, Ryan, and Darryl just sitting down to our freshly cleaned table. It was only moments before our new friends from NC arrived with another cosplayer, Kayla (Travelin’ Chui), to join our unofficial after party.
The rest of the evening could only be described as “epic.” The combined geek energy of people from three different states at one table was so powerful it reached the heavens. We laughed, we cried, we drank, we hugged, and bonded as a… cosfamily. Stories were shared, future con trips planned, and life-long friendships were made. Sorry Easter, but I think our unofficial C2E2 after party has to be the most fun I’ve ever had on a Sunday in April.
We drove back to St. Louis in the middle of the night, happy knowing that our new friends would make future conventions even better. Now to plan for the next adventure!
Look for our complete C2E2 Cosplay Gallery soon!
