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Reflecting on Growing Older
I’m not sure why I thought a picture of a bird bath should go here. I just couldn’t think of anything else in my photo library that would work for this blog post.
First of all, I want to start this entry by stating that I am sorry for not updating this website as often as some would like. I was working my full time job, among other duties in my professional and personal life, and I have been dealing with some troubles that have occurred since then. There are some details that I believe need to be addressed going forward, but I don’t want to go too far into anything personal, so I will do my best to avoid going into TMI territory.
In July, I turned 37 years old. This is supposed to be a time to celebrate another year of life; but, for the past several years, I have looked less forward to my actual birthday each year. It was only this year when I was finally able to why I feel this way into words. I find myself not desiring physical gifts to open in front of a group of people (don’t get me wrong, I still am grateful when I receive one), rather enjoying being together with my guests at my residence or a place of my choosing. Perhaps this is because I am finally maturing to the point where I find greater value in spending time with those closest and most important to me instead of unwrapping a box/opening an envelope to give me a gift of my choosing at a later date. But this begs the question: Is there anything in life that I desire to receive from people in celebration of an event? Honestly, the best gifts I want from people are really to be better than they are now, to stop making a past mistake that they have been making for years, to stop doing/not doing something in their lives that is detrimental to their health (physical, mental, or any other type). Either that, or I am just sad that I am not a kid anymore. While I believe that the true answer is a mixture of both, the latter is more likely.
I bet you are thinking “At this point in your life, why haven’t you accepted that you aren’t a child any longer?” I have had difficulty answering this question for quite a while, and I believe that any answer I provide would only be considered an excuse. If I were to give some kind of response, I think one of the biggest reasons stems from a medical condition I was born with, but wasn’t diagnosed with until I turned 18, and didn’t sink in until much later in life.
I have partial Autism. Specifically, I have what was once called “Asperger’s Syndrome” but has now been reclassified as “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. This is relevant because I cannot handle change as well as people aren’t Autistic. This can range from a television show not airing at specific time/day anymore, to losing a sock, to losing a random object in a room that doesn’t have any apparent significance to other people, to losing a charging cable to an electronic device I haven’t used in over a decade.
While writing this, I realized this is starting to go off track, so I will post some pictures of my pets while I try to gather my thoughts. They will be placed any time this happens.
This is Cheese. I took her in after my first cat was put to sleep. A family member of mine couldn’t take care of her anymore, so I took her in immediately when I learned about her.
Here is another oddity I have now that I am growing older: Do you know how when your parents look at you, and they say they only see the version of you from when you were much younger? Such as age 1? Or 4? Or some other age? I have noticed that, while I don’t have any children of my own (as of this writing), I am starting to see myself think of people from my past in a similar manner. By people from my past, I am not only referring to family and friends that I am close to, but people I knew in grade school that I am friends with on social media. Whenever I think of a photo they post online, I end up pasting the younger version of that person on that post in my mind. This makes think of the phenomenon where ones children will start to display the mannerisms of their parents. No matter how hard we try, there are some characteristics of our parents that we cannot truly escape. We can try to go out of our way to change these quirks, but we are only postponing the inevitable.
Another inevitability is how our hair changes. I did not notice my hair turning gray until I turned 35, and while I took steps to stop hair loss (and was no longer able to take those steps), I still think of myself with my face from high school when remember a moment from my life after graduation from high school. To confuse me even more, this happens when I look at myself in a mirror; I don’t notice (right away) how my face has changed since then.
On the plus side, this sometimes applies to servers and bartenders when I am ordering alcohol. In my late 20’s, people still wanted to see my ID because they still thought I was in high school. If I were to hazard a guess as to why this happened, I chalk it up to avoiding growing up for so long. The best part is this means when I turn 80, I will likely look 50!
This is one of three cats I rescued around nine months after we took in Cheese. Her name is Speckles, and she is the mother of two boys who entered our garage on day.
I could go on much longer about how irritated I am at streaming services for becoming what it was supposed to an alternative to, or how my favorite hobby of video games is going in directions that make me question whether or not I still want to be a part of it; but I honestly feel like they would be nothing more than the ramblings and rants of a man who can’t find something to like about the future, of someone who responds to modern facts of life with “Everything was better in my day”! If I go on for much longer, this post will never end. These are just thoughts I needed to put to text.
The cat on the left is Spector. This little rascal was able hide in our basement for a full day not long after rescuing him and his family. Now, this kid loves to petted like he was never shown affection a single day in his life. His nicknames range from “Lover Boy” to “Man Whore”. Don’t let his affectionate manner fool you; this cat has plenty of muscle, and his claws can put Wolverines’ to shame!
The cat on the right is Simba. Despite his stripes and name, he is not much of a fighter. He is the family scaredy cat (see what I did there?). He also happens to have the softest fur out of all cats in my home. Oddly enough, his meow sounds more like a squeak.
My Yearly Trip to the Midwest Gaming Classic
See everything to love about one of my favorite conventions!
As I stated when I wrote about Anime Milwaukee (AMKE), another convention I go to is a video game convention called the “Midwest Gaming Classic” (MGC). Even though I enjoy video games more than I do anime, I haven’t gone to MGC as often as I wanted. If my memory is correct, I started going to this event around two or three years after I started attending AMKE. I also haven’t done any volunteer of staff related work for MGC in any capacity.
What I find unusual about MGC is that the general public is only able to attend on Saturday and Sunday. Friday (more specifically, Friday evening) is reserved for people who purchased the VIP equivalent entry badge. Not only do VIPs enter the convention one night early, but they are also granted entry into an afterparty on Saturday night. Bare in mind, the person who owns the badge must be over the age of 18.
Much like my trip to AMKE, it is important to understand that I didn’t attend every event the convention had to offer. I only captured what grabbed my attention, and there is likely something that I missed during my time there, such as a question an answer panel with actors from the original Mortal Kombat video game. But I did take pictures of everything I could, and I want to share the best of the best with all of you. Now with that out of the way, let us begin!
Rather than showing you my usual two favorite rooms in the entire convention, I thought I would start by showcasing the various people working on projects of their own. I started by looking in the Artist Alley (for people from other industries to show their talent), where I met a man who was making literature in the style of the Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. Normally I don’t gravitate towards literary arts, but we started talking about what the both of us are doing with our projects, and we exchanged business information. While I didn’t post pictures here, there were also artists who worked on television shows like Animaniacs, as well as the artwork shown on the sides of arcade cabinets (like Mortal Kombat). As I was looking through the photographs to post for my first bit of text, I realized that instead of showcasing a small amount of photos for original artwork, I should include original works not just for novels, but for interactive art as well (I do, as well as thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of gamers, consider video games to be a form of art worthy of being displayed in museums).
I should note that the original games that I am showing you are designed to be played on an original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), or at the very least, a retro style console made by a third party that can play not just NES games, but Super NES (SNES) games, Sega Genesis (or Megadrive if you live outside of the US), and their Japanese equivalents. The photos that display a small cube shaped object, however, is a game that is using a projector to be displayed onto a physical book for the player to interact with. This is one of the many applications that Augmented Reality is capable of.
There are several pictures focused on a game called “Dungeons and Doomknights” because of who created it: the game is made from the creators of a free-to-play RPG called “Adventure Quest”. This is relevant because this game has been updated since the early 2000’s. I remember playing it very briefly one day durring my college years, but it didn’t grab my attention at all. Still, for that game to still be around and have a dedicated fanbase after all this time, is quite a feat in its own right.
With this selection I present everything in the vendors hall that grabbed my attention. As you can tell, there were many vendors offering modern and vintage video games; so many, in fact, that they often blurred together when I try to recall who is who. That is not to say that every one of the is the same; some offered just games, another offered games and systems, another offered games and systems from other countries, old gaming computers, controllers, trading cards, and so much more! If you look closely in some of my photos, there are some games in glass cases that are so rare (and in some cases, like Rule of Rose, controversial) that the prices of these games (even second hand/pre-owned) can go as high as 200, 300, or even 800 dollars! Almost one full GRAND for a single copy of a video game that was released almost 20 years ago!
Oddly enough, there were over-sized replicas of game cartridges made with a 3D printer that can be hung on a persons wall. There were also prop weapons from popular media for people to use decoratively or as part of ones costume. There were empty boxes from game systems that have long since been out of production that went for several hundred dollars (yes, you read that correctly, the EMPTY BOX for an older game system had that high of a price tag). There were games for the Nintendo Famicom (Family Computer, basically the Japanese version of the NES we had here in the U.S.A.) that were translated by fans into English and placed onto third party reproduction cartridges. There were people selling Mods (fan made physical components that provide modifications to game consoles) that allow them to be used with modern hardware (more on Modding later on).
Of course, there are rare cards for card games you buy; from Magic the Gathering, to Pokémon, the Yu-Gi-Oh! There are also products you can buy for any dice-based tabletop roleplaying games that you might find useful. There was also a section of the hall dedicated to a company called “Premium Edition Games”. This company releases new games that feature retro-NES graphics, with an emphasis on selling PHYSICAL COPIES of these games! Not to mention, depending on which edition of a game you buy from them, the packaging can come with an instruction manual, and small walkthrough pamphlet if you are stuck in an area of the game you are playing, and other physical goodies! Given how many people download their games from a digital storefront (this includes me, but only when there is no alternative) to companies that push game streaming services that utilize cloud technology (like the failed Google Stadia, and the wildly successful Xbox Game Pass), this is something I want to support as best as I can.
Here we have what I consider to be the primary “Game Room”. I say primary because while there were several rooms where attendees could play games, the one in these pictures was the largest and most open, providing the greatest variety of games to play, both video and pinball alike. It is here that we can find almost any game system or game oriented computer ever released in North America, as well as some that were only available internationally. The video games that could be played ranged from all-time classics like the Super Mario Brothers, to more involved game like Guitar Hero, to motion controlled games like Wii Sports, to ones that I don’t remember hearing about before. The systems ranged from all time greats like the Atari 2600, to commercial and critical flops like the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, to ambitious crowdfunded failures like the OUYA (more on that later). Games had genres ranging from platformers to shooters, racing, sports, rhythm and music, one-on-one fighting, and genres I can’t identify easily. One especially strong point was the variety of arcade cabinets the were not only playable by attendees, but were being auctioned off. The cabinets in question had racing games (like Cruisin’ USA, Hydro Thunder), one-on-one fighting games (Street Fighter vs X-Men, Soul Caliber, older Mortal Kombat games), and Rail Shooters (not necessarily the official title of the genre, but the kind of game where you hold a large plastic fire arm in front of the screen while all in-game movement is done by the game itself; all the player would do is pull the trigger on the plastic gun to eliminate hostiles), just to name some of the genres.
While I use the word “genre” quite liberally when describing the kinds of video games one can play, I don’t think genre applies to pinball machines the same way. Pinball machines may feature the likeness of a subject like rock bands (there were Iron Maiden and Foo Fighters themed machines), licensed movies (like various movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and older James Bond films), and even licensed video games (like the classic series Castlevania and the surprise indie phenomenon Undertale); but, at the end of the day, the are all essentially the same kind of cabinet with the same goal: earn as much points as possible by hitting the buttons to make the flippers move inside the machine to hit a metal ball in a specific direction. To clarify, I do not mean to say that this makes pinball machines bad; just that there does not seem to be much variety in what the goals are.
I would also like to point out that there were vendors in this area that sold replacement parts for pinball machines. Many of these machines were also for sale and/or auction. Not only that, but there were several sections of a table that acted as a tribute to a man named Ralph Baer, often referred to as the Father of Video Gaming. This man coined the term “Video Game” when he released the Magnavox Odyssey (more on that later), and went on to make several other products (like Simon) up until his passing in 2014. I must admit, I don’t recall much of this mans history prior to the release of the Odyssey, but he did immigrate to the United States in 1938.
I also want to show that while this event was focused on gaming, there were automobiles from famous movies and television shows on display. I don’t know why they were here, but is was nice to see them anyway.
This second dedicated game room is mostly filled with arcade cabinets brought in from a business called “Garcade”, located in Menomonee Falls, WI. This business provides all day unlimited play of all arcade cabinets at their disposal for a small fee. Much the larger game room, this one also contains arcade cabinets from the era of the original Mortal Kombat and earlier. That is not all that was in here, however; other groups had set up specialty sections dedicated to a specific type of game, games that were modified in some capacity, and a selection of vintage game consoles.
Firstly, we have multiple set ups for a game for the Original Xbox called “Steel Battalion”. This is a game that very few people ever owned, let alone played. Why, you ask? Because of its controller; the controller that is required to play this game (new copies shipped with the controller, making it a rather expensive purchase at around $200 in the early 2000s) had two joy sticks (that resembled flight sticks from various flight simulators), kick pedals, various switches and knobs; all plugged into one controller socket. This game was made with the controller in mind before the actual game was planned out. The controller is the main reason this game is remembered at all. There was a sequel released for the OG Xbox called “Steel Battalion: Line of Contact” which used the same controller. Now that I think about it, it is possible that I played that sequel instead of the original at these conventions. There was a final sequel on the Xbox 360 called “Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor” which, instead of using the original controllers (or making new ones), this game used Microsoft’s “Kinect” sensor, which was meant to compete with Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PlayStation Move for the PlayStation 3 by not using physical controllers, but by tracking the players entire body. Both the game (the third sequel) and the Kinect sensor were critical and commercial failures.
Next to the Steel Battalion station we have several computers playing what is called “Cursed Halo 3”. In this section are several computers playing “Halo 3”, but each computer has a different quirk, oddity, or flaw to how the game is played. One station may have a very low resolution, making it look like it was put through a filter so it would resemble something from the 32-bit era of gaming; another station had the played die if the jumped; another station had the player explode if the fired their weapon; and other choices that I can’t fully remember.
Moving on, we have various other game systems from my childhood, and some that were before my time. We start with a Model 2 Sega Genesis and a Sega Saturn placed next to each other. I only had Nintendo consoles growing up, so my experience with Sega is very limited. I know that Sega made add-ons for the Genesis, specifically the Sega CD (an attachment that played games off of compact discs) and the 32X (an attachment that played 32-bit games versus the 16-bit games that the Genesis played by default). If my data is correct, the Sega Saturn was released approximately six months after the 32X add-on was released, but I don’t remember ever playing on one when I was younger.
What I do remember is that I have not played on our next two consoles before: the Intellivision (made by Mattel) and the ColecoVision (made by Coleco), made in the early 1980’s. I only know of these systems from video essays I watched talking about what the controllers and add-ons were for each of them, I have never actually played any games on them before. What can tell you is that the Intellivion had a Voice modulator that some games could make use of, talking to the player before voice acting was common place; the ColecoVision had an add-on that allowed you to play Intellivision games on the ColecoVision itself (yes, you could play games that were meant for a competing plaform on the Colecovision). That would never happen today.
Next to them was one of many Pong consoles that were sold throughout the ages. We all what Pong is, right? It’s essentially Tennis on your TV. What I never knew about Pong was how many different versions of Pong consoles were available at the time. The one with circular controllers is just one of many different iterations that are so many to count, it would take far to much time to list them, let alone describe their merits and detriments.
I also found what seems to be a test model PlayStation 2 (PS2) meant to be used by game developers for making/testing/debugging games on the platform. What this means is that when someone is making a game for the PS2, they can make diagnostic checks, test the games being made to see what needs work done the most, and even change what region of the world they are programming in. That last tidbit is important to mention because Region Locking (where in a game meant to be sold in the USA cannot be played on its intended platform if used in a console sold in the EU, for example) is a common practice in the video game industry, but I cannot fathom why.
I brough this up because the test model PS2 was playing a game only released in Japan called “Pepsi Man”. It is a full fledged video game where you play as a Japanese mascot for the Pepsi soft drink, where the goal is to make it to the end of a stage collecting as many cans of Pepsi as possible. Placed next to the game itself is a Pepsi Man action figure, still in its packaging. Not only does it mention that it changes color, but it also smells like Pepsi! Why one would want a toy to smell like soda is beyond me.
Thankfully, there were various Nintendo consoles set up nearby. We had classic systems playing various Star Wars games (hard to wrong with that), but there was also a failed portable console that Nintendo made in the 1990’s: the Virtual Boy. This was meant to be a system to tide people over until the next generation of home and handheld consoles were made, and while the marketing grabbed peoples attention, the system itself fell short of what people were hopping the console could do, let alone Nintendo’s hopes for the platform. In short, the graphics were only displayed in red and black colors, the games that were released (while not bad, per se) didn’t do anything that made the player feel like they were in virtual reality (they mostly to advantage of some 3-D elements), it drained the eight AA batteries that powered it in less (if I remember correctly) than 4 hours, you had to prop the unit on its stand to use it properly, and the box for the system advertised that it can cause eye strain and headaches is used for too long (around 30 minutes). Don’t get me wrong, people should take breaks when playing video games, but if advertise that your product can cause eye strain and headaches, why would anyone buy it at all? The unit on display was modified to display gameplay on a TV screen, so at least your eyes won’t strain as much.
Speaking of commercial failures, we come to the little cube that was supposed to change the video game industry called the “OUYA”. If you have never heard of this overly ambitious console, I wouldn’t say that I blame you. The Kickstarter campaign was first launched in 2012, with the goal of being a digital platform for smaller game companies with smaller budgets in exchange for temporary exclusivity to the platform. With a goal of $950,000, it surpassed one million within eight hours, setting several records for the crowdfunding service. Admittedly, I didn’t follow much of the news surrounding the OUYA; but to make a long story short, public reception wasn’t good, it didn’t sell enough units, it’s assets were bought by the computer company Razer, discontinued in 2016, and it’s digital storefront was shut down three years later.
While not being financially successful can keep something around for a while, the doesn’t mean it will leave a lasting impact for generations to come. Case and point: the Magnavox Odyssey. This is the first video game system to ever be released in North America, debuting in 1972. The only graphics this system had were white looking quadrilaterals, color only appearing when you applied different plastic overlays onto your TV screen. The games that one could play on it were on cards that were actually printed circuit boards, ranging from racing to soccer, a haunted house, racing, volleyball, skeet shooting (provided one had the light gun peripheral), and many others. From what I can gather, approximately 350,000 units in its lifespan.
Once I was done with the different game rooms, I went to the next room over to see all of the ways people can modify (or simply referred to as “mod” or “modding”) entire pieces of gaming hardware. Essentially, in the pictures you see here, these people have taken entire consoles (or controllers) into another type of chassis all together. We have people who put Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons into GameCube controllers. We have an Xbox One controller and a Wii Remote wit full QWERTY style keyboards. Another modder (a word I am using to describe someone who mods game hardware or software) who put a Wii into a shell with similar to that of a Game Boy! Others have done the same to an Atari 2600, a Sega Dreamcast, and a Sony PlayStation! We have two NES’ in Game Boy shells! I must admit, I don’t know why the cartridges are protruding from the back in the manner they are, but it’s still impressive all the same. Another modder put a Sega Genesis in a shell similar to a Nintendo Switch! I personally would not do anything like this to my own game systems (unless I was trying to repair an older system in some way) I do respect what modders are capable of.
I the same room, I found a few oddities that stood out. First, a radio from the first quarter of the 1900’s that had a small display screen placed inside. I can’t remember if it can be used like a standard TV, but it is still impressive. Next we have the R-Zone, a failed VR-style game system from Tiger Electronics. This company made small monochrome games based on many different Intellectual Properties (including popular video games); actually, it would be more accurate to say they made small handheld game SYSTEMS based on different Intellectual Properties. These handhelds had only one game programmed onto them, all making the same annoying sound effects that made many 8-bit game soundtracks sound like a philharmonic orchestra by comparison. The R-Zone was just a head mounted display screen that one could swap out whenever a player wanted, only to be displayed in Red.
As for what appears to be a gaming quality computer, it is actually some sort of game system that was developed in China. What this console was capable of, let alone the distribution method of its games, I don’t know. I don’t even know what the name of this system is, and as someone who touts himself as someone who is quite knowledgeable when it comes to gaming history, I am surprised by this systems exsistance.
I don’t know who this band is, but it is what they are doing that I find to be noteworthy. They are performing music while someone is play Super Metroid on four flatscreen panels. There is, however, a catch: the band on stage is playing the appropriate in-game music relative to what is happening in game! I couldn’t capture video of how near perfect the band switched songs to the on screen action (mostly because if I uploaded to Youtube, the video I would upload would be flagged by algorithms and Nintendo would claim copyright infringement), but to see it happen at the convention really was a sight to behold!
Speaking of sights to behold, allow me to show you something I didn’t expect: a rock concert for the after party! After walking past some pinball machines on the way to said party, grabbing a free drink that came with my VIP pass, I was treated to a performance from a band I haven’t heard of, with a founder/front man I would never have expected: but first, some details you need to know.
As I mentioned before, some of the guests of honor were actors from the first Mortal Kombat video game. Not actors from a motion picture, actor who were digitized in front of a green screen and then placed into the game. One of the actors, Anthony Marquez (who portrayed the character Kung Lao), started a band called “Kung Lao and the Scorpions”. I was delighted to stay during the entire performance, something I wasn’t expecting to do! Sadly, he can’t use that name for his band anymore because Warner Brothers (the current copyright holders of the Mortal Kombat brand) issued a Cease and Desist order; as such, he started the performance by shouting “F*ck you, WB”! In the audience, I ran into one of his co-actors from back in the day: Ho Sung Pak, who portrayed Liu Kang.
Unfortunately, some sights don’t inspire a sense of awe and wonder, and professional wrestling doesn’t do it for me. I am not trying to offend anybody with that statement, or those who are passionate about the sport, nor do I wish to offend Brew City Wrestling (the company that had wrestlers competing for attention from the crowd); this kind of wrestling just isn’t for me. This display did draw a sizable crowd, so congratulations to Brew City Wrestling for having passionate fans in attendance.
Of course, no trip to a game convention would be complete without a trip to the board, tabletop, and card game room. Like I said when I spoke about AMKE, while I have a greater appreciation for board games than before, it is not always a room I frequent. What I don’t remember about AMKE and last years MGC is whether or not the board game room sold cards. I can’t remember with total certainty, but it seemed like there was a greater variety or larger quantity of board games here than there were at AMKE.
What better way to finish this blog post than to include photos of cosplayers? As a bonus, I included a service dog that I found.
The two people in the first photo are staff members of AMKE that I have worked with in the past. They are cosplaying as characters from the Persona series.
The person draped in red with a black mask covering their face is from a multiplayer experience called “Journey” (not related to, or inspired by, the band of the same name). To talk about it would be doing a disservice to the game itself; it deserves to be in an art museum. So, I will say this: play it on PlayStation 4 or 5 if you can, use a video walkthrough as a last resort.
The woman whose face IS clearly visible and wearing red is cosplaying as a character from a series of games meant to be educational: Carmen San Diego. The games spawned several television shows and a Netflix series. Of all of the potential characters I was expecting to see cosplayed, this one was a legitimate surprise!
Next we have a pair of cosplayers dressed as variants of the character “Solid Snake” from the Metal Gear Solid franchise. One is wearing military fatigues and a blue bandana, the other is crouched behind him in a cardboard box. Why the box? It is a stealth mechanic throughout the series which would take too much time to talk about here.
I normally don’t post any photos of a child/children without parental permission, but the parent/guardian was nearby, so I don’t think it would hurt if I showed both of them. The child is dressed as Goku from the popular anime series “Dragon Ball Z”, while the parent/guardian was cosplaying Raiden from the Mortal Kombat series. It is always awesome to see kids and their parents/guardians in costume together, but is always better when their costumes are themed/part of the same series/franchise. Do you want an example?
I found a mother/daughter duo cosplaying as characters from a horror game called “Silent Hill 3”. The daughter is lead character Heather Morris, while the mother is a demon resembling a deformed nurse. It is combos like this you can’t find anywhere else!
We also have a woman cosplaying as Kim Possible, the lead character from the Disney Cartoon series of the same name. One thing to remember about conventions like these: you will see people in costume from outside the theme of the event.
Now we have two people dressed as the character Leon Kennedy from the remake of the iconic horror game “Resident Evil 4”. I have one person dressed in his easily recognizable jacket, and a second pulling off a very convincing cosplay of his face and hair.
Finally, we have a cosplayer portraying Aeris (or is it Aerith? I have seen both spellings and pronunciations across various media, and I can’t tell what the canonical version is supposed to be) Gainsborough from the landmark JRPG “Final Fantasy 7” (as well as the first chapter of the 2020 remake). The character starts as a flower salesperson, so the woman cosplaying her was handing out plastic flowers to various attendees.
With that, I can say thank you for taking time to read my most recent post. It was my most ambitious post do date, and while it took long than I wanted, I am glad I was able to make sure it was something worthy of being seen by you (the reader), but also able to write about the even in a manner that would hopefully spark an interest in this convention the next time it comes to town. Here’s to what I post next!
My Yearly Trip to Anime Milwaukee
Take a look at everything that grabbed my attention at Wisconsins largest anime convention!
If my post about my yearly Halloween party was any indicator, I am what most people would refer to as a “huge nerd”. One could easily say “dork” or “geek”, but I have no personal preference, often using all three interchangeably. By most standards of first world countries (the United States specifically), I am a nerd that finds much enjoyment and entertainment from science fiction, video games, fantasy, superheroes, and anime. For over ten years, I have attended and worked at an anime convention in my hometown of Milwaukee, WI during the spring called “Anime Milwaukee” (AMKE). The convention is usually held in February, but is sometimes (including next year) held in March. I first attended this convention in the hopes of meeting an internet celebrity who was quite popular during the early days of online content creation. I was jobless during that time; as such, when I was still jobless the following year, I decided to do some volunteer work at AMKE, realizing that volunteer work often looks good on ones resume. The staff in charge of the convention was so impressed with my work ethic while there, they encouraged me to come back the following year as a full fledged staff member. I agreed to do just that, and (for the most part) I have been a staff member ever since. I started working in what is called “Con Ops” (convention operations), which is behind the scenes work helping certain departments with various duties. I was moved to Registration around three years later, taking information from people wanting admission to the event, and it was my default department ever since.
What is important to note is that while I say staff member, it does not entirely mean that am paid by the organization in charge of running the event. In essence, we are still volunteers. The difference between volunteers and staff members in the context of AMKE is that volunteers work approximately four hours per day of the event without pay; staff members work much longer hours (also without pay) the day before the convention starts, and after it ends in exchange for free admission to the convention, free food when one goes on break, and (if necessary) free housing in the hotel connected to building where the whole even takes place.
I will admit, there may be some facts that I am missing, or have forgotten about, so take what I say with some salt. There is always a possibility that I am wrong about the information given.
The last two years, however, were a change of pace for me. Last year, I couldn’t fulfill my duties as staff member because I couldn’t receive the time off from work. This year, however, I willingly chose to take a break from being a staff member. With several responsibilities in my personal life to take care of, I didn’t want to over burden myself. Besides, now that I am doing freelance photography, any convention centered around anime is great place for a photographer to take some truly colorful, exquisite and “out there” pictures. Below you will find what I consider to be the best of what captured, with my personal favorites receiving their own section with my thoughts on each piece(s).
The first three photographs you see here were of a man cosplaying (a term for people who not only show up at conventions in costume, like to act like the character they are emulating, derived from the words “costume” and “play”) as the character “Travis Touchdown” from the video game series “No More Heroes”. I am posting these first because when I mentioned that I was doing freelance photography as a hobby and a side job, he was nice enough to give a small cash tip. How nice of him!
The collection you see here is everything I saw in the vendors hall. There were certainly some shops that grabbed my attention more than others, but I wanted to be show the best variety of goods that can be purchased from this area. It is one of my favorite areas of the event, from the DVDs of various anime, to the manga, vintage video games, artwork, clothes, imported Japanese snacks, to goods I would never had thought of selling there; there is something in the vendors hall for anybody from hard core otaku, to a casual fan of the medium of anime. I particularly like the people who sell coffee mugs and liquor glasses adorned with symbols and scenes from various popular anime (as well as games, TV, and movies). Something I always do is go to Wild Bills Olde Fashion Soda Pop. When you buy a mug from their booth, you are given free refills of soda for the entire duration of the convention! Given that many places and food vendors may have increased their prices for food and drinks (before the cost of food went up for everybody), this is a bargain one shouldn’t walk away from!
The next batch of photographs are from the dedicated video game room. As you can see, there were many of the modern game consoles and computers (some of which are able to make use of virtual reality headsets) but there were also various older consoles pre-dating the original Nintendo Entertainment System; some of which I only vaguely remember hearing about, others I don’t believe I have even heard of. Not only that, there were various arcade cabinets for people to use, all of which were re-programmed to be played without needing to constantly insert quarters to use should a player be beaten.
Here we have the service animals I encountered during the event. I am an animal lover myself (I have four cats) so I needed to include pictures of critters by any means necessary. I know I am not allowed to pet them, but I wish I could have!
These are the only pictures I took of the dedicated tabletop, board, and card game area. It is not a place I go to very often, but it is included because there are still people who don’t like video games or prefer to play something that is not displayed on a screen. People will often bring rulebooks for pen and paper games like Dungeons and Dragons, but the variety of board games in this room are surprisingly large! There are all time classics like Monopoly, Sorry, and Operation (just to name a few classics); to games I have never heard of or played before (or seen and played very sporadically), like Pandemic (admittedly not the best game to play since 2020), Arkham Asylum (the H.P. Lovecraft version, not the one found the Batman Universe), and Betrayal at the House on the Hill (easily one of my favorite board games). Unfortunately, because I rarely go into this part of the convention, I don’t know the full extent of what card games are available.
Here we have attendees who are cosplaying as various characters from the award winning role playing game (RPG) “Persona 5 Royal”. If you were to look at footage and artwork from this game, I would not blame you for thinking the game was based on an anime. In actuality, while Persona 5 Royal (Royal being an enhanced re-release of the original version titled “Persona 5”) has an anime aesthetic, it actually started as a game (as did its predecessors), then was adapted into an anime, and even (Since Persona 3 onward) a series of stage plays! The Persona series is a big deal in Japan, and Persona 5 (and its Royal re-release) is what helped propel it into mainstream popularity. I took these photos because Persona 5 Royal has become not just one of my RPGs ever made, it has become one of my favorite games in general. It was the first game in the Persona series I ever played, and it made me a fan! Why did I chose to photograph anybody who cosplayed these characters (sometimes of the same individual character)? Well…
Of all of the Guests of Honor who were at AMKE, the two you see here (Elizabeth Maxwell on the left and Max Mittelman on the right) voiced prominent characters in Persona 5. For my photograph with Max, I was dressed in my Joker (the lead character of Persona 5) from my Halloween party. There were other actors from that game (all of which voiced characters of games and anime) available for autographs and photos, but due to finances and time constraints on my part, these were the only members of the cast of Persona 5 I was able to meet. Although I met another actor named Marta Harms (who is from my hometown of Milwaukee, WI) who I was able to meet, the photograph I was hoping have of her didn’t take. Weather it was because I didn’t set anything up in my camera, or because her manager didn’t know how to use it properly, I don’t know for sure.
For this group, I wanted to showcase all of the cosplayers at the convention that I took. All of these people came as characters from not just anime, but games, comics, TV, and movies. What I want to make clear is that while people (when dressing as a particular character) will try to wear the most accurate costume they can afford, others will try to make one themselves, or put their own spin on their costume. Take the man dressed as the Riddler from the Batman universe (the green outfit with the question mark on the bowler hat and the gold colored cane); he bought the outfit online, and years later, put the jewels on himself. As for the samurai, those are actually Stormtroopers from the Star Wars franchise, re-imagined as samurai. The man wearing a belt with his hand extended in front of him is cosplaying the main character from a series of live action Japanese superhero shows called (translated as) “Masked Rider”. Specifically, the 2002 entry in the series named “Masked Rider: Agito”. Many of the people dressed as Japanese high schoolers are from Persona 3 & 4. The lone woman with a large sword is the character Ciri from the role playing game “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”. There are three women dressed as variations of the Character Link from “the Legend of Zelda” series. The people who are dressed like sewer workers are Inklings from shooter series “Splatoon”. I could go on with everything you see, but I don’t what to have everything spilled out to the point of boredom; feel free to research who these characters are on you own time.
With these, I wanted to show the crowds of people you will find at these kinds of conventions. The amount of attendees can exceed tens of thousands, with lines for autographs not moving or, worse yet, moving for hours with no end in sight, often wrapping around various hallways in the building and going outside. The very first anime convention I went to was called “Anime Central” in Rosemont, IL. That convention (as far as I know) is not the largest anime convention in the United States, but it is the largest in the Midwest region. When I arrived to pick up my badge for entry, I waited (if I remember correctly) at least FOUR HOURS just to register. When I was able to enter the grounds, I waited another two hours for autographs from actors that starred in the several seasons of the popular “Power Rangers” TV show (this includes the late Jason David Frank).
And here, my final picture of this post, is my in my Joker costume, wearing a wrestling champion styled belt advertising the Midwest Gaming Classic (a dedicated video game convention happening at the end of this month). This was the first big event I attended as a photographer, and while I still quite new to covering conventions of any kind, I hope what I have shown you has given you an idea of what interests me, and my skill at covering different subjects throughout an event as big as this. If you have any feedback, questions, or comments, please feel free to reach me via the contact section of this website. Thank you for taking the time to read this post!
Taking a Drive Down Candy Cane Lane
It is not often that I partake in a holiday themed event during the month of December. And yet, this will make the second time I have gone to a part of town that goes into a Christmas overdrive for a charitable cause. Out of respect for the families who reside in that neighborhood, I will not list the physical location of the event I attended, nor will I upload photographs that clearly show the numbers on the homes. The event involves the neighborhood in question that will have most residents going over the top with their Christmas decorations, all the while asking for donations the Mothers Against Childhood Cancer fundraiser (MACC fund). During this time, the area temporarily changes its name to “Candy Cane Lane”. What is important to understand with the photographs I show you is that I did not walk around on foot while shooting; I was only able to take the exposures while sitting in the passenger seat of my fiancées’ vehicle. There is no place to park, nor are there any convenient parking locations close by; because of this, every picture I took was in motion, with other drivers close behind us to enjoy the festivities like I was with my partner.
My Current Equipment
Update 2, March 1, 2023: Around the end of February, someone very important to me surprised me yet again! This time, he gave two gifts to help me grow as a photographer. First, a Canon EOS Rebel T7:
Much like my Nikon D3100, the red and black objects dangling where the strap would be attached belong to my Peak Design Slide Lite strap.
Second, a backpack from Peak Design (I love there products) that I have had my eyes on for quite a while. Specifically, their 30 liter Everyday Backpack:
Oddly enough, this is the original model of the bag I wanted. I don’t mean this as a bad thing, I am happy to own it. The downside to this particular bag is a missing piece of metal near the clasp of the main compartment and a few missing straps. This bag will serve me well.
Update 1, February 8, 2023: As of Christmas of 2022, I received a lighting kit as a gift. While I didn’t take pictures of the kit and its contents, I found a picture of it off of Amazon:
The contents of my kit.
This kit contains three backdrops, two lights with remote controls for the bulbs, which can change lighting from cool to warm; two lights that are with spiral bulbs with umbrellas (I am still trying to figure out how to best utilize them); stands, clamps, sandbags, and reflectors.
The final piece of new equipment so far is one that took my breath away: a Nikon D3100 DSLR with a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Auto Focus-S Zoom Lens!
I bought a third party lens cap and tether for the cap at a nearby camera store. There is a noticeable crack on the LCD screen, but it is not that big of a deal breaker because the screen is not touch sensitive. The red and black objects dangling off the sides where the strap would normally attach are anchors for any strap made by Peak Design, of which I own the Slide Lite strap in black.
Original post:
Now that I have printed business cards for when I am out an about in the world, I should make a post detailing my current equipment that I am using in this adventure in photography. What is important to note is that as I am still aspiring, that means as a newcomer to freelance photography, I don’t have access to the most up-to-date and professional grade equipment. Because of this, I wanted to provide information on the equipment that I have at my disposal.
The first camera I bought after I decided to wet my feet in the world of photography.
The camera you see here is my Nikon Coolpix B500. This camera was recommended to me by my fiancée after he researched the best budget cameras for beginners in 2022. I am thankful to him for not just pushing me towards something that grabs my attention, but finding tools that I can use to start working.
The camera itself does not allow for interchangeable lens, nor does it allow me to manually adjust shutter speed and aperture; it does, however, have multiple different shooting modes that I can select with the dial on top. There is onboard storage, but at 20 MB, it is absolutely pitiful storage. Thankfully, it has an SD card slot, so you use a card for as much (or as little) storage as you need. The camera can be connected to a computer through the use of a micro-USB cable, and can be connected to a monitor through a micro-HDMI cable; however, you cannot use it as a webcam, which begs the question: Why does have a DC power cable input? If you can only transfer images to a computer or display them on a monitor/TV, what is the point of including it? It also has an LCD screen on the back for live viewing what you shoot, and while I don’t mind it not being a touch screen, there is no viewfinder. Instead, the speaker is placed where the viewfinder would be. The screen can also be adjusted to different angles, but it cannot be angled 180 degrees downward if you want to take a selfie. Then again, given the shape of the camera, that is probably for the best. Speaking of the shape, I would have thought that it would accommodate a large rechargeable battery, but instead relies on four AA batteries. I am surprised by this design choice.
That being said, I must say, I do love the feeling of this camera in my hands when I use it. Because of the grip on the side, and because of the large lens for me to grab with my left hand, I am able to keep this camera well balanced as I shoot pictures. Physically holding the camera and being able to access all of the buttons nearby is relatively easy.
The second camera I bought. The picture I used was (and still is) blurry for my liking, so I sharpened as best I could after uploading.
This is my Nikon Coolpix A1000. This is the second camera I bought, and is the camera I use most. I bought it simply because it has a viewfinder. Not to mention, even though the previous camera is considered a compact point-and-shoot camera, I wouldn’t consider it compact; this one is most definitely compact.
This camera does use a rechargeable battery, and the screen can be tilted downward in a 180 degree manner that makes it good for selfies. When looking up various tech specs for this camera, I feel that (overall) it is a better camera than my B500. The shutter speed and min/max aperture are higher, the min ISO is (slightly) lower, and the internal memory is higher (though at approximately 81MB, that is still not ideal). Best of all, in addition to the various shooting modes that my B500 has, this camera has modes that let me manually adjust the shutter speed and aperture, as well as ISO settings for those modes. There is even a button that lets me switch between the LCD touchscreen on the back (also with live view), and the function to switch between them automatically when I place the camera up to my eye (though the sensitivity of the sensor is rather high for my liking, with no way to adjust it). The addition of a programmable function button on the front is a great touch, allowing me to use it for adjusting anything from ISO to white balance.
With all of this being said, there are some drawbacks. Aside from different focal lengths, zoom magnifications, and other bits of jargon that I won’t mention here, actually holding the camera can be a little awkward. When the lens exits the camera body, I hold it by the zoom slider located on the side of the lens itself. Not to mention, because the screen folds downward, using this camera in conjunction with a handheld grip (with the socket for the screw all the way on (when looking at the screen or through the viewfinder) on the left side of the bottom of the body) to takes selfies or vlog using the movie mode button is doable, but (because having on attached prevents the screen from folding all the way down) is not advised.
As for why the photo of the camera is not as sharp or a little blurrier than that of the B500, that is because I still learning to properly use my newest piece of equipment:
The third camera I bought, for a very specific reason.
The camera you see here is an Olympus Tough TG-6. On a technical level, I find this camera to be relatively okay. Its min/max aperture is less than the A1000, it’s ISO seems to be on par with the B500, and the optical zoom is shorter than either of them. But there are features that made me put this on a must have list.
For one thing, I can use this camera in temperatures as low as 14 degrees F. Because I currently live in Southeastern Wisconsin, a camera that I can use in the cold is worth having. Not to mention, it can survive 220 pounds of pressure, it can survive a seven foot drop, and has water/dust proof ratings. I will admit, I am still learning the ins and outs of what this camera can do, so the photographs I have with this camera may not be the best they can be.
The use of cameras themselves can only take a person so far. What good is a camera if it is not kept steady? There is image stabilization and vibration reduction technology, but that can’t cancel physical motion caused by the camera itself being moved. Even with the steadiest of hands, at far enough distances, the slightest motion in the hands of the photographer can cause massive amounts of blurriness. That is why I bought this tripod/monopod hybrid online. I bought this model mostly because I was looking for something affordable, but red happens to be a favorite color of mine. When I saw that it also had a monopod with it, I was intrigued. I am still learning the best ways to use the monopod properly.
My Neighborhood Halloween Party
Every year for Halloween, I throw a party during my neighborhoods annual Trick or Treat. I have friends and family over while families bring their children door to door for candy. While I encourage the attendees to come in costume, it is not a necessity. The party itself is nothing extravagant, just people I invite spending time at my residence having some laughs, knocking back some beer, watching something Halloween related on TV, eating pizza, and enjoying each others company.
I waited until now to share the following photos on this site because there were children in the best of these, and I wanted to see if my neighborhood association approved the release.
This is my fiancée dressed as the musician “Marshmallow”. The smile on his face is quite contagious.
It’s always good when people bring dogs on trick-or-treat.
It’s always good to see iconic slasher villains cutting back on murder to enjoy the festivities.
This was an admittedly adorable baby shark. I apologize for causing that song to be stuck in your head once again.
I couldn’t think of a way to properly categorize the remaining photos, so I am displaying them here for you to enjoy.
My First Album, “Fall Leaves”
Welcome to my first album.
For my first album (which I will use for my portfolio) I was trying to wrap my head around what the subject should be. Then, I remembered the a mindset given to me by one of my closest friends:
“K.I.S.S.”
What he meant was “Keep it simple, s**thead.” For the record, he wasn’t calling me that, he was just relaying to me how it was said to him. Moving on, I realized that it being autumn, people will often turn their attention towards the changing colors of the leaves. It was then, the simplest subject matter came to mind: Fall Leaves. Admittedly, I have a bias for the color Red; so while I did try to capture different shades of the season, I was mostly only able to find ones that ended up being red. Rest assured, there were some good ones in shades of orange and yellow, even a purple one or two.
