The Munchkin's Notebook

On October 25th, I drove up to Clinton, NY, for the Elven Autumn photo event held by Everlore Events . This was an all-day event that included a light lunch with soup, leatherwork vendors, three different styled shooting locations, and a trip to a stable for photos with horses.  I was one of the featured photographers for this event, which meant I was paid to attend and had to provide at least three images of each model I worked with. For this event, I used: Canon R6 1 Speed light Trigger Umbrella Gels 24 - 105mm lens Camera Settings: This was an outdoor shoot with a forested area, a meadow, a pond, and a pasture for the horse sessions.  This event had dynamic lighting conditions because it started fairly sunny, but heavy cloud cover rolled in as the day progressed.  I used ISO 100 and 400, with most shots taken at ISO 100.  My aperture varied from F4 to F13, depending on the amount of background blur I wanted.  Most of my images were shot a...

On October 18 th , I did a cosplay studio session with Kei (za_warudio) and Kitsune Kauki (kitsune_kazuki) for their Mizi and Sua from Alien Stage cosplays.   Alien Stage mostly takes place on a stage, so I kept the set very simple to align with stills from the show and the fan art references. For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 2 Phottix Strobes 2 bell reflectors 1 round soft boxes 1 bell reflector with barn doors 2 c-stands 3 light stands Backdrop stand Black seamless 2 gels Tether cable Laptop Laptop holder Sandbags A-clamps Spyder Color checker Silver backdrop Smoke genie Stool Pillow (to kneel on) The setup The stills and reference photos provided were very simple in regard to background, so I went with a black seamless and a silver backdrop.  I chose a silver backd...

On October 5 th , I did an on-location spooky session with Rebecca at Claude Moore Park.   The theme was Victorian ghost; however, it is hard to be a ghost at 9:30 in the morning on a bright sunny day.   I did my best to get a spooky look. For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Cannon Speed lights 1 30-inch umbrella Light stand Assistant Smoke Genie The setup The set up was relatively easy.  I mounted a Canon speed light on a light stand with an umbrella.  My assistant then held the light in the appropriate spots as we made our way around the park to different locations. Camera Settings This session was held outdoors in bright morning sun and was intended to look spooky, so I tried to keep the images dark.  Thus, I used ISO 100, which is great for sunny conditions.  I wanted to maintain a soft background as much a...

On October 7 th , I did a studio spooky session with Coralinx Cosplay .   The central theme of this shoot was a pretty goth girl who had a fondness for spiders and decorating with cobwebs, making it a perfect Halloween session.   Note: Cobwebs are defined as abandoned or old spiderwebs that have collected dust.   Many cobwebs are the result of comb-footed spider (i.e., black widows) that make irregularly shaped webs.   Spiderwebs are active structures built to catch prey.   (Source: Western Exterminator Company) For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 2 Phottix Strobes 2 strip boxes 2 rectangular soft boxes 2 c-stands 3 light stands Backdrop stand Black seamless 2 Westcott silicon gels Tether cable Laptop Laptop holder Sandbags A-clamps Spyder Color checker Fake cobwebs Table ...

  This past weekend, my husband and I tried to spend the weekend at Post Card Cabins in Shenandoah for our anniversary.  I say tried, because I got sick halfway through our trip, and we had to go home early.    But the first part was nice. Post Card Cabins are owned by Marriott and located about 2 hours from D.C. in the Shenandoah region of Virginia, off I-81.   There is also another set of cabins located off I-15, but we stayed at the ones off I-81.  The property features several of these, in what I call a cabin development, which are spaced a decent distance apart, creating the illusion of privacy.  The cabins are essentially tiny homes featuring a large picture window at one end, a small bathroom, a mini-fridge, a compact kitchenette with plates, silverware, a pot, and a pan, and a queen bed.  They also come with two Adirondack chairs, a picnic table, a fire pit with wood, and a s'mores kit minus the sticks.    ...

ISO 100, Aperture F9, Shutter 1/250s, Focal Length 29mm This was the first year I attended Once Upon a Con, a fantasy book convention previously held in Pennsylvania.   I had heard good things about the convention and was looking forward to attending it, especially since it had been relocated to the Gaylord in National Harbor, Maryland.  I also liked that, based on their outward-facing websites, you could register to be an approved photographer for the event and receive a special badge.  This is different from a media badge.  So, I was looking forward to attending and photographing lots of fantasy characters (elves, fairies, pretty princesses, etc.) and lots of ball gowns, which really is my sweet spot.  I was also looking forward to some of the panels they were hosting, as well as their vendor area, which was 90 percent authors.   Overall, I thought this convention was going to be a pleasant diversion from the standard anime/comic conventions I h...