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Anthrocon 2017 - Wrap up
8 years ago
General
Okay, so some quick hits for those interested.
Basic photo stuff
Wednesday - 138 photos
Thursday - 494
Friday - 534
Saturday - 342
Sunday - 497
Total file size is a whopping 121 GB. For comparison, that's as much as all of my pictures combined from Anthrocon 2011 through 2013.
Investments and things to work on
I will be investing in dual 1 TB external HDs for backing up and storing photos at cons. Currently I have one 500 gig that is almost full. I want each photo, when offloaded, to be in two places. I used to go with my laptop HDD + external, but that is no longer an option. Going forward, it'll be dual external drives.
Shoulder strap is an absolute must. Oh my goodness, that neck strap just about wore off a layer of skin from the back of my neck.
Business cards. I swear, it feels like double the number of people asking me for business cards this year, compared to last year. This was something I had forgotten up until a month before the con. I tried to get something done quickly, but my job absolutely crushed my free time and I didn't get a lot of feedback in the journal I put up. I have been thinking about it a lot (especially since fursuiters kept bringing up the subject). And right now my thoughts are that I want something simple and modern, font-wise. A link to my Flickr, a link to my Twitter, and something of a minimalist kangaroo body silhouette or head in the middle (ideas and feedback welcome). Yes, I am seeking to commission an artist for that design. I am setting a goal of having business cards in my hands by end of year.
New cell phone maybe? I have a old phone by today's standards. It was made in 2012, according to what I can find on Google. While not terribly important, I did have to use my cell phone camera on multiple occasions in lieu of having business cards. When people asked to be able to contact me, I Twittered at them. And I made it a point to take a pic to tweet at them...you can see where this is going. So maybe a cell phone upgrade is in order.
Posing - still a weakness of mine. I've come light-years from where I started, but I still have a difficult time with posing fursuiters. While some just don't have the time or there's difficulty in following instruction, there's still a huge opportunity for me to learn how to pose fursuiters, angle shots, and really work with the immediate surroundings. It's something I really want to work on. I'd rate myself "okay" on this, but I don't want to be "okay". I want to be great!
The stuff that was awesome
The new camera is insanely good. I really put it through a gauntlet of different lighting exercises over the course of the con, and the preliminary results look good. There's still things it struggles with or I'm not yet skillful enough to compensate for - like radically different light levels or severely low-light conditions and black fursuits, but this is massively better than my old camera in every measure. Heck, I learned a lot just using it. I snagged a lot of photos with this that my old camera wouldn't be able to attempt. The extra low-light capabilities are a godsend. The new camera has controls in much more accessible locations instead of buried deep in menus, and I have a much better understanding of how to use them. Combine all that with more conservative use of flash and a better control over light levels, and I feel my photos this year are at a whole new level. This is definitely the best investment I've ever made. All that said, I've only observed the previews/thumbnails so far. We'll see how the chips fall when I dive into full-on editing, but I'm feeling much better at this stage than I ever did with the old camera.
I do need time to adjust settings and set up the shots, and if I am granted that time to do so then the shots have been pretty great.
Something was pretty awesome this year, in that I had the opportunity to hang out with a bunch of awesome folks. Not going to sit and try to list them; you guys know who you are! Also it was the first time meeting some friends from across the pond, and that was pretty exciting.
Fursuit dance competition - I freaking love it every year. Highlight of my con every time. I'm often moved to tears. I find that I have a big soft spot for watching the passion, the devotion, the discipline of dancing, and it's all the cuter in fursuit. That said, the single biggest thing I wanted to see, I think I missed? Anthrocon doesn't seem to have a masquerade anymore, but I'm told that Tien Long danced on stage at this year at some point. So, apparently I missed senpai noodledragon discipline dance. I am pissed. Very, very pissed. In case you are wondering, there is something called "Anthrocon Tonight", with literally zero description as to what it's supposed to be. My tweet to Anthrocon asking what it was, in time for me to line up for it in case it was supposed to be the masquerade, was never answered. Someone mindlessly fucked with my once-a-year opportunity to watch the dragon dance. This is a cardinal fucking sin and an unforgivable oversight.
The shoots
According to my records, I participated in three official photoshoots this year. I was backup photographer for Lady Rain's Friday photoshoot. I was primary photographer for Animal's photoshoot early Saturday, as well as Zarafa's photoshoot Saturday after the parade. Of these, Animal provided a memory card for the shoot so he is already in possession of his photos. I will work on getting Rain's and Zarafa's photos shipped to them ASAP. Currently the photos are still on my external HD while I try to make room for putting them on my main HD. Tomorrow after work I should be able to finish that process and start getting photos out to those.
Of special note is Comet Scrap, whom I promised to get her photos on an expedited basis. I have two sets of photos of her that I'm aware of, from two different days. I will get those processed immediately after the official shoots.
Hotel room
Hate to say it, but only having three total people in the room was rather nice. I think I'm going to change up how I do future rooms. I'm going to divide up the roomspots as such - there will be two roomspots at 1/4 the room price, one spot at 1/2 price. The "big" spot nets you your own bed, and the two smaller spots net you one half of a shared other bed. If someone wants to pony up the cash for the big spot, they can have it. If not, they can take the smaller spots and I get a bed to myself next time.
Conclusion
I had an amazing time at Anthrocon, but I've got a lot of work ahead of me still. Is there anything I missed or you want me to mention? Feel free to comment and let me know!
Basic photo stuff
Wednesday - 138 photos
Thursday - 494
Friday - 534
Saturday - 342
Sunday - 497
Total file size is a whopping 121 GB. For comparison, that's as much as all of my pictures combined from Anthrocon 2011 through 2013.
Investments and things to work on
I will be investing in dual 1 TB external HDs for backing up and storing photos at cons. Currently I have one 500 gig that is almost full. I want each photo, when offloaded, to be in two places. I used to go with my laptop HDD + external, but that is no longer an option. Going forward, it'll be dual external drives.
Shoulder strap is an absolute must. Oh my goodness, that neck strap just about wore off a layer of skin from the back of my neck.
Business cards. I swear, it feels like double the number of people asking me for business cards this year, compared to last year. This was something I had forgotten up until a month before the con. I tried to get something done quickly, but my job absolutely crushed my free time and I didn't get a lot of feedback in the journal I put up. I have been thinking about it a lot (especially since fursuiters kept bringing up the subject). And right now my thoughts are that I want something simple and modern, font-wise. A link to my Flickr, a link to my Twitter, and something of a minimalist kangaroo body silhouette or head in the middle (ideas and feedback welcome). Yes, I am seeking to commission an artist for that design. I am setting a goal of having business cards in my hands by end of year.
New cell phone maybe? I have a old phone by today's standards. It was made in 2012, according to what I can find on Google. While not terribly important, I did have to use my cell phone camera on multiple occasions in lieu of having business cards. When people asked to be able to contact me, I Twittered at them. And I made it a point to take a pic to tweet at them...you can see where this is going. So maybe a cell phone upgrade is in order.
Posing - still a weakness of mine. I've come light-years from where I started, but I still have a difficult time with posing fursuiters. While some just don't have the time or there's difficulty in following instruction, there's still a huge opportunity for me to learn how to pose fursuiters, angle shots, and really work with the immediate surroundings. It's something I really want to work on. I'd rate myself "okay" on this, but I don't want to be "okay". I want to be great!
The stuff that was awesome
The new camera is insanely good. I really put it through a gauntlet of different lighting exercises over the course of the con, and the preliminary results look good. There's still things it struggles with or I'm not yet skillful enough to compensate for - like radically different light levels or severely low-light conditions and black fursuits, but this is massively better than my old camera in every measure. Heck, I learned a lot just using it. I snagged a lot of photos with this that my old camera wouldn't be able to attempt. The extra low-light capabilities are a godsend. The new camera has controls in much more accessible locations instead of buried deep in menus, and I have a much better understanding of how to use them. Combine all that with more conservative use of flash and a better control over light levels, and I feel my photos this year are at a whole new level. This is definitely the best investment I've ever made. All that said, I've only observed the previews/thumbnails so far. We'll see how the chips fall when I dive into full-on editing, but I'm feeling much better at this stage than I ever did with the old camera.
I do need time to adjust settings and set up the shots, and if I am granted that time to do so then the shots have been pretty great.
Something was pretty awesome this year, in that I had the opportunity to hang out with a bunch of awesome folks. Not going to sit and try to list them; you guys know who you are! Also it was the first time meeting some friends from across the pond, and that was pretty exciting.
Fursuit dance competition - I freaking love it every year. Highlight of my con every time. I'm often moved to tears. I find that I have a big soft spot for watching the passion, the devotion, the discipline of dancing, and it's all the cuter in fursuit. That said, the single biggest thing I wanted to see, I think I missed? Anthrocon doesn't seem to have a masquerade anymore, but I'm told that Tien Long danced on stage at this year at some point. So, apparently I missed senpai noodledragon discipline dance. I am pissed. Very, very pissed. In case you are wondering, there is something called "Anthrocon Tonight", with literally zero description as to what it's supposed to be. My tweet to Anthrocon asking what it was, in time for me to line up for it in case it was supposed to be the masquerade, was never answered. Someone mindlessly fucked with my once-a-year opportunity to watch the dragon dance. This is a cardinal fucking sin and an unforgivable oversight.
The shoots
According to my records, I participated in three official photoshoots this year. I was backup photographer for Lady Rain's Friday photoshoot. I was primary photographer for Animal's photoshoot early Saturday, as well as Zarafa's photoshoot Saturday after the parade. Of these, Animal provided a memory card for the shoot so he is already in possession of his photos. I will work on getting Rain's and Zarafa's photos shipped to them ASAP. Currently the photos are still on my external HD while I try to make room for putting them on my main HD. Tomorrow after work I should be able to finish that process and start getting photos out to those.
Of special note is Comet Scrap, whom I promised to get her photos on an expedited basis. I have two sets of photos of her that I'm aware of, from two different days. I will get those processed immediately after the official shoots.
Hotel room
Hate to say it, but only having three total people in the room was rather nice. I think I'm going to change up how I do future rooms. I'm going to divide up the roomspots as such - there will be two roomspots at 1/4 the room price, one spot at 1/2 price. The "big" spot nets you your own bed, and the two smaller spots net you one half of a shared other bed. If someone wants to pony up the cash for the big spot, they can have it. If not, they can take the smaller spots and I get a bed to myself next time.
Conclusion
I had an amazing time at Anthrocon, but I've got a lot of work ahead of me still. Is there anything I missed or you want me to mention? Feel free to comment and let me know!
I'm looking forward to seeing the photos you took this year. From the sound of it, they should be amazing, although your past photos you've taken of me have fallen under the same category.
Yes, 3 people in a room is a good maximum, especially if everyone is fursuiting at the same time!