Back from Otakon 2011! Otakuthon 2011 plans

Thu, Aug 4, 2011 - Back from Otakon 2011!

I'm back from Otakon '11! It was a blast!

Held in Maryland, MD, it was the farthest con I've been to (700 km), the largest anime-only convention I've been to (Fan Expo was larger but multi-genre), 3rd American anime convention I attended (in-before Anime Boston '11 & Bakuretsu Con '10), and being with the largest number of people I traveled with not as a chartered group (Anime North is larger but is a charter group). We stayed there from Thursday to Sunday. Here's a day-by-day recount:

Wednesday:
Slept overnight at Julien's place with my other hotel roommates.

Thursday:
Mini-bus arrived! A/C broke down after 1 hr of driving. Customs was quick. 1 pit stop for lunch. Arrived in Baltimore around 5:15 pm, then badge pickup and went for dinner at the Noodles place in the Inner Harbor. Went to Barnes & Nobles, then later at The Cheesecake Factory.

Friday:
Toured the venue a bit. Did a shoot with Glay & friends, then helped Heekun with 2 shoots. Ate Subway for lunch and dinner. Did an impromptu shoot with 2 cosplayers at the Marriott hotel near midnight. Hottest day for the hottest con ever...

Saturday:
The longest day. I went to help Heekun again, but the cosplayers were a no-show. I did a lot of walkaround and series gathering shots. I attended the Zelda one, where I met LiKovacs! She instantly recognized me. Being too hot outside, we moved the gathering inside. With Markiemark425 and me leading the way, we settled at the glassed ships area on the 2nd floor of the BCC. We did the indoors Zelda gathering there, then me, PL & friends went to the harbor mall to eat. Being too hot & crowded, we decided to go to the Hyatt's resto instead. It was expensive, but well-deserved! We did a mini-shoot after, and I had to rush back to the hotel room to download my pics then head to the Masquerade.

The Masq was held at the 1st Mariner Arena. What a huge venue! I sat in front in Press seating thanks to my Consplayers badge. The stage was huge as well, and my zoom lens didn't have enough reach. No filming was allowed, so you'll see no videos of the Masq on YouTube. After the Masq, I RTHR then headed back to the BCC for 2 shoots with souldrivephotos. He still had to order food; in the meanwhile, both shoots canceled. So we took a big random group of Tales cosplayers and did an impromptu shoot on the 2nd floor. Those who remained moved to the 4th floor for a midnight mini-shoot, which lasted till 2:15 am!

RTHR after that, but when we parted, the Madoka [PMMM] cosplayer with us gave me a hug! However, back to the room, it was open with next doors, and people just stayed up till 5 am...

Sunday:
Woke up and packed everything. 1 last hour to tour the BCC then return to hotel to board the bus. A guy (who cosplayed the giant silver mecha last night) lost his badge, so one of us gave him his. A/C was not functional, bus was dark navy blue and absorbed a lot of sunlight, and was parked at the stadium's parking lot in the open, so inside was an oven. We stopped many times to buy drinks. Pit stop for dinner. Customs was fast. Returned to the original pickup point, where I passed the night at Julien's place.

Monday:
Slept for 12 hrs. Started to rain. Packed my stuff and waited for the rain to stop. Returned home by metro & bus!

People I traveled / hung out with:
+ Julien, Guillaume

People I met and talked with:
+ LJinto, Anna Fischer, Fotofong, AcksonL + of course, !

People I saw but didn't talk to:
+ Eurobeat King, Aaron Granofsky of FiberGlassBlades.com, Nobuo Uematsu (AHHH!)

People I hoped to meet but never saw:
+ Dan.I.Elle

In absentia (people who didn't attend Otakon this year):
+ many others

Photos of various cosplayers by various cosplay photographers. Not all shots were from Otakon, but all cosplayers were present at the con in the costumes shown here.

Here are my photoshoot time slots for Otakuthon '11.

My schedule is not made yet. But this represents a rough draft of my convention plans.

Last update 2011-08-04|11:45 am

THURSDAY:

I'm picking up my badge.

FRIDAY:

Main activity on this day is watching the Skit Contest from 7 pm to 9 pm.

I need to account for dinner though.

SATURDAY:

I'm watching the Masquerade from 7 pm to 10 pm, lining up at 5:30 pm (tentative).

I love night shoots! Do you? Possibility of staying up till 2 am, as usual.

SUNDAY:

I have to check out from the hotel in the morning. I should be free till 6 pm, where I'll meet the crew from the cosplay department and spend the rest of the evening with them!

1. My friend is offering photoshoots for people in the Greater Montreal Area.



More info here: forums.otakuthon.com/viewtopic…

Five Amazing Artists:
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Ten Amazing Cosplayers:
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Ten Amazing Cosplay Photographers:
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Fourty Great Friends:
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