rose_of_pain (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_of_pain) wrote2011-04-15 12:24 am
rose_of_pain) wrote2011-04-15 12:24 am
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Sakura Matsuri 2011
Almost forgot to make an actual entry about the festival. This year's was really good for me. Despite the fact that it was rather cold and that this was the first year ever they started actually charging for the event, it managed to be really fun for Ren and I. And we both agreed on this.
So I got barely any sleep the week leading up to the event. Because I was not only trying to finish my own crazy costume (that I honestly didn't expect to be as big of a project as it turned out to be) but also working on a commission for Ren. Thursday night I was up until 3am sewing and oddly enough I wasn't tired at all at that point. But decided to go to bed anyways. Friday night Ren came down and of course I wasn't anywhere near done yet. Though having her there made it easier to finish hers as I was able to size it to her as I went. And luckily kimono stuff is pretty easy and fast for me so it didn't take too long to finish up. I already had finished all the harder parts (mainly the hakama) before she got there. Put Tangled on because she hadn't seen it yet and I still had it in on our On Demand (Carrie and I rented it on Wed and loved it) and then she went to bed shortly after that so I was working on my own.
But I DID finish Souji! ...at 4am...x____x;; lol Though once again...wasn't really tired. I dunno, maybe I'm getting used to doing this? ...not sure if that's a good thing.
Woke up early ish on Saturday. Before Ren woke up in fact. And once again...not that tired. lol I dunno what I was running on but it was pretty odd for me. Eventually Ren got up and eventually we got dressed and got dropped off at metro. Got on and only a few minutes on the train...realized I was missing my gloves. X____X So got off at the next station and turned around. lol Called my Dad up and he was nice enough to bring them to me and just hand them over the gate so I didn't have to exit and re-enter (thus losing some money). Sad thing too was as we were getting up to get off, I then realized there was a Yosuke cosplayer sitting behind us all this time. XD; Observant am I. Was a little sad 'cause it would have been nice to talk to another cosplayer and not feel like the only two weirdos on the train. As that train also had a few other punky looking folks who were kinda cool and asking us what stop to get off at. And of course the train we ended up getting on after I got my gloves...was nowhere as cool. T_T lol And I couldn't really sit down right because of my stupid swords getting in the way. But at least I wasn't stopped by security as I was fearing I might since I've never taken a fake weapon on metro before. One guy at my station did ask where we were going, if we were part of some performance or something and I got nervous thinking maybe he wanted to investigate my swords but he never asked. lol (My Dad had gotten me paranoid that I would get stopped and told to take them back home. Pffft.)
Anywho, got there a bit later than originally planned so texted Katsuya to let her know since I had a planned photoshoot with her and had originally thought we'd do it when I got there but I knew she had a 11:30 shoot and didn't want to get in the way of that so just told her to let me know when she was done. Ren and I went to the festival and man it was weird seeing it all fenced in. This was the first year EVER it was fenced off and there was a fee. But I didn't mind really. I mean it was only $5 and I think it was worth it. So we got in, and right off the back I run into LostDreamz (my Mikage from Zenkai) and she's all "Oh hi~ Do you know where Federal Triangle is? I'm trying to meet with a photographer..." and I'm all "...wait, are you Katsuya's 11:30?" Pfffft. So I led her back where I came from (as that was the stop I got off at), got our stamps so we could go back in later, and found Katsuya together. Katsuya had also just met up with her other friends and done a few photos so she was all "Oh sweet! Everyone I need to take photos of is here all at once!" So she started out with LostDreamz in her Fai costume with her Kurogane over by the one building which I gotta say was kinda perfect for the costumes. And meanwhile Ren and I chatted with Katsuya's group of friends, who all seemed pretty cool. And we pretty much ended up spending the whole day with them in the end. XD Go figure. It was good though 'cause Ren and I were sad we wouldn't have anyone to hang with since most of our friends who usually go weren't going this year.
So after Katsuya finished the first shoot and now that the parade was over, we made a trek over to the Sackler-Freer gardens which is where I had suggested we do my shoot. I know at first everyone was a little reluctant to walk over there and they kept thinking of the Tidal Basin and I was all "Errr its a lot harder to get photos there, just trust me on this." and we get there and immediately Katsuya is all "OH WOW THIS IS PERFECT!" XD As things were actually still in bloom in there while most of the actual cherry blossoms were gone. And my favorite weeping cherry tree still had some blossoms on it too. But Katsuya stopped me first at the Magnolia tree and had me do most of the photos with that since it was still in full bloom. Was a little nervous at first because that one actually had a little barrier around it so I don't think we were really supposed to go up on the grass like that so we were both like "Quick, before we get kicked out" XD but no one ever did come over. And it was totally worth it as she took some kickass photos.
I only have two so far as she gave them to me as previews...
My legs are a little awkward but I love how she got the blossoms in the frame. XD
Love this one personally~! Especially as it works so well for the character. Though I did get a little nervous at first when she told me to lay down. Just because usually I look really awkward in laying poses in photos. I never know how to position my legs and I still don't think I did it right (I should have stretched both legs out instead of just one) but it still looks pretty cool I think. XD
She hasn't sent me the rest yet but I'm totally ok with waiting as she took A LOT. And then we did go over to the weeping cherry tree and took more with that.
And there were these two cute little ducks sleeping in the little pond in this area. Soooo cute.
Then after she finished with me and was taking some more photos of Suzanne's Pokemon costume, I decided to take the chance to get some of Ren's costume since I did make it and all. XD
Now the doll meet was supposed to take place in this same location and well I didn't bring any of my dolls in the end so wasn't really going to go to the whole thing but figured I'd at least pop in but noticed while we were taking photos...that no one was there. Even though it was past the time the gathering was supposed to start at. X_x; But I did spot one girl with a doll, obviously waiting for people and so I went over and talked to her and waited with her for a bit. But eventually we gave up and since she had no one else to hang with, she decided to join our little group. So yeah, ended up meeting quite a few people as a result of this shoot. XD We all finally went into the festival for real this time and hung out a bit until Katsuya had to leave and meet with some other friends. But the rest of us continued to hang out. Never did see another doll person sadly though I read later on the boards that they did end up having sorta a meet but at a different spot and at a totally different time. Wtf. O_o;
Festival itself was good. Didn't buy anything 'cause I had no money. And foodwise I just ended up getting some noodles that were cheap and easy to get too instead of trying to get some of the better Japanese food I usually get. I dunno, I was just really hungry and didn't care anymore at that point, I guess. Though in the end it was ok 'cause Billy, who had left our group when we started doing photos, found us again and had like a million things he had bought, which included pretty much every Japanese snack that one would want at the festival and let us all partake in his findings. *_* Thus he kinda became my new best friend for the day. XD
It was pretty cold but as long as we kept moving, it wasn't too bad. And then we ended up by one of the stages mostly 'cause there was a crowd and the crowd gave us more body heat and sheltered us from any wind. XD I didn't even pay too much attention to the stuff actually on stage though there were a few pretty good dances going on that I looked up at every now and then. Didn't make it to the Cosplay Fashion show thing but didn't have too much of an interest in it anyways. Eventually we did wander back out of the festival in order to go to the 3DS booth that was on the other side. Which was pretty damn cool, actually. They had a tent out with several 3DSes out and guys that showed you how to play each one. And gotta say...that is one damn impressive game boy. I may actually consider getting one now. Like still will wait a while but now I see an actual reason to get one as it really was A LOT more impressive than I thought it'd be. Entered the raffle to win one but of course none of us won. XD
Also at one point when something came up about ages...I think when we were going past the Beer booth and one of them mentioned they were only 15. And I nearly stopped in my tracks. And then asked them all and yup, all of them were 15. And they were all "uh why?" and I'm like "....T_____T You're all an entire decade younger than me!!!" and lol they were all just as surprised. Granted I know I look a lot younger. And they all acted A LOT older. Like I had assumed they were all at least 18. So they impressed me as they were all very mature for their age. But still. I felt OOOOOOOLLLLLLLD. T_T
After we did the 3DS stuff, it was getting kinda late and cold so we decided to leave. Headed on the metro and got to ride with them for a little before Ren and I had to get off and switch trains and head back to my place.
And I will make another entry when I get the rest of the photos from my shoot. Very excited to see the rest as I actually really like how my costume came out. Especially since I made it in less than a week. XD Needs a few touch-ups but otherwise I'm pretty satisfied.
~Lyn
So I got barely any sleep the week leading up to the event. Because I was not only trying to finish my own crazy costume (that I honestly didn't expect to be as big of a project as it turned out to be) but also working on a commission for Ren. Thursday night I was up until 3am sewing and oddly enough I wasn't tired at all at that point. But decided to go to bed anyways. Friday night Ren came down and of course I wasn't anywhere near done yet. Though having her there made it easier to finish hers as I was able to size it to her as I went. And luckily kimono stuff is pretty easy and fast for me so it didn't take too long to finish up. I already had finished all the harder parts (mainly the hakama) before she got there. Put Tangled on because she hadn't seen it yet and I still had it in on our On Demand (Carrie and I rented it on Wed and loved it) and then she went to bed shortly after that so I was working on my own.
But I DID finish Souji! ...at 4am...x____x;; lol Though once again...wasn't really tired. I dunno, maybe I'm getting used to doing this? ...not sure if that's a good thing.
Woke up early ish on Saturday. Before Ren woke up in fact. And once again...not that tired. lol I dunno what I was running on but it was pretty odd for me. Eventually Ren got up and eventually we got dressed and got dropped off at metro. Got on and only a few minutes on the train...realized I was missing my gloves. X____X So got off at the next station and turned around. lol Called my Dad up and he was nice enough to bring them to me and just hand them over the gate so I didn't have to exit and re-enter (thus losing some money). Sad thing too was as we were getting up to get off, I then realized there was a Yosuke cosplayer sitting behind us all this time. XD; Observant am I. Was a little sad 'cause it would have been nice to talk to another cosplayer and not feel like the only two weirdos on the train. As that train also had a few other punky looking folks who were kinda cool and asking us what stop to get off at. And of course the train we ended up getting on after I got my gloves...was nowhere as cool. T_T lol And I couldn't really sit down right because of my stupid swords getting in the way. But at least I wasn't stopped by security as I was fearing I might since I've never taken a fake weapon on metro before. One guy at my station did ask where we were going, if we were part of some performance or something and I got nervous thinking maybe he wanted to investigate my swords but he never asked. lol (My Dad had gotten me paranoid that I would get stopped and told to take them back home. Pffft.)
Anywho, got there a bit later than originally planned so texted Katsuya to let her know since I had a planned photoshoot with her and had originally thought we'd do it when I got there but I knew she had a 11:30 shoot and didn't want to get in the way of that so just told her to let me know when she was done. Ren and I went to the festival and man it was weird seeing it all fenced in. This was the first year EVER it was fenced off and there was a fee. But I didn't mind really. I mean it was only $5 and I think it was worth it. So we got in, and right off the back I run into LostDreamz (my Mikage from Zenkai) and she's all "Oh hi~ Do you know where Federal Triangle is? I'm trying to meet with a photographer..." and I'm all "...wait, are you Katsuya's 11:30?" Pfffft. So I led her back where I came from (as that was the stop I got off at), got our stamps so we could go back in later, and found Katsuya together. Katsuya had also just met up with her other friends and done a few photos so she was all "Oh sweet! Everyone I need to take photos of is here all at once!" So she started out with LostDreamz in her Fai costume with her Kurogane over by the one building which I gotta say was kinda perfect for the costumes. And meanwhile Ren and I chatted with Katsuya's group of friends, who all seemed pretty cool. And we pretty much ended up spending the whole day with them in the end. XD Go figure. It was good though 'cause Ren and I were sad we wouldn't have anyone to hang with since most of our friends who usually go weren't going this year.
So after Katsuya finished the first shoot and now that the parade was over, we made a trek over to the Sackler-Freer gardens which is where I had suggested we do my shoot. I know at first everyone was a little reluctant to walk over there and they kept thinking of the Tidal Basin and I was all "Errr its a lot harder to get photos there, just trust me on this." and we get there and immediately Katsuya is all "OH WOW THIS IS PERFECT!" XD As things were actually still in bloom in there while most of the actual cherry blossoms were gone. And my favorite weeping cherry tree still had some blossoms on it too. But Katsuya stopped me first at the Magnolia tree and had me do most of the photos with that since it was still in full bloom. Was a little nervous at first because that one actually had a little barrier around it so I don't think we were really supposed to go up on the grass like that so we were both like "Quick, before we get kicked out" XD but no one ever did come over. And it was totally worth it as she took some kickass photos.
I only have two so far as she gave them to me as previews...
My legs are a little awkward but I love how she got the blossoms in the frame. XD
Love this one personally~! Especially as it works so well for the character. Though I did get a little nervous at first when she told me to lay down. Just because usually I look really awkward in laying poses in photos. I never know how to position my legs and I still don't think I did it right (I should have stretched both legs out instead of just one) but it still looks pretty cool I think. XD
She hasn't sent me the rest yet but I'm totally ok with waiting as she took A LOT. And then we did go over to the weeping cherry tree and took more with that.
And there were these two cute little ducks sleeping in the little pond in this area. Soooo cute.
Then after she finished with me and was taking some more photos of Suzanne's Pokemon costume, I decided to take the chance to get some of Ren's costume since I did make it and all. XD
Now the doll meet was supposed to take place in this same location and well I didn't bring any of my dolls in the end so wasn't really going to go to the whole thing but figured I'd at least pop in but noticed while we were taking photos...that no one was there. Even though it was past the time the gathering was supposed to start at. X_x; But I did spot one girl with a doll, obviously waiting for people and so I went over and talked to her and waited with her for a bit. But eventually we gave up and since she had no one else to hang with, she decided to join our little group. So yeah, ended up meeting quite a few people as a result of this shoot. XD We all finally went into the festival for real this time and hung out a bit until Katsuya had to leave and meet with some other friends. But the rest of us continued to hang out. Never did see another doll person sadly though I read later on the boards that they did end up having sorta a meet but at a different spot and at a totally different time. Wtf. O_o;
Festival itself was good. Didn't buy anything 'cause I had no money. And foodwise I just ended up getting some noodles that were cheap and easy to get too instead of trying to get some of the better Japanese food I usually get. I dunno, I was just really hungry and didn't care anymore at that point, I guess. Though in the end it was ok 'cause Billy, who had left our group when we started doing photos, found us again and had like a million things he had bought, which included pretty much every Japanese snack that one would want at the festival and let us all partake in his findings. *_* Thus he kinda became my new best friend for the day. XD
It was pretty cold but as long as we kept moving, it wasn't too bad. And then we ended up by one of the stages mostly 'cause there was a crowd and the crowd gave us more body heat and sheltered us from any wind. XD I didn't even pay too much attention to the stuff actually on stage though there were a few pretty good dances going on that I looked up at every now and then. Didn't make it to the Cosplay Fashion show thing but didn't have too much of an interest in it anyways. Eventually we did wander back out of the festival in order to go to the 3DS booth that was on the other side. Which was pretty damn cool, actually. They had a tent out with several 3DSes out and guys that showed you how to play each one. And gotta say...that is one damn impressive game boy. I may actually consider getting one now. Like still will wait a while but now I see an actual reason to get one as it really was A LOT more impressive than I thought it'd be. Entered the raffle to win one but of course none of us won. XD
Also at one point when something came up about ages...I think when we were going past the Beer booth and one of them mentioned they were only 15. And I nearly stopped in my tracks. And then asked them all and yup, all of them were 15. And they were all "uh why?" and I'm like "....T_____T You're all an entire decade younger than me!!!" and lol they were all just as surprised. Granted I know I look a lot younger. And they all acted A LOT older. Like I had assumed they were all at least 18. So they impressed me as they were all very mature for their age. But still. I felt OOOOOOOLLLLLLLD. T_T
After we did the 3DS stuff, it was getting kinda late and cold so we decided to leave. Headed on the metro and got to ride with them for a little before Ren and I had to get off and switch trains and head back to my place.
And I will make another entry when I get the rest of the photos from my shoot. Very excited to see the rest as I actually really like how my costume came out. Especially since I made it in less than a week. XD Needs a few touch-ups but otherwise I'm pretty satisfied.
~Lyn
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