Congratulations to you all on your graduation and best wishes for your next adventure!
Recently, I had an afternoon photo session with some amazing students, and their families, before they left for their high school's grad dinner and dance.
Congratulations to you all on your graduation and best wishes for your next adventure!
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During the 2015 fall season, Vancouver’s first fully immersive haunted house, Fearmongers, took us through the horrors and monsters of Greek Mythology. Located in Richmond, with 12,000 square feet of obstacle-course-meets-haunted-house, this haunt did not dissappoint.
The creators, Josh and Alice, have been avid haunt enthusiasts for years. They have been going from haunted house to haunted house all over the world indulging their love of everything scary. After being to so many, they finally got together and decided to make one of their own, and put their expertise to the test. Alice has worked in the monster effects industry for years and Josh is a haunt connoisseur, so they felt they had the right ingredients for an awesome haunt. The ancient gods were finished with mankind so guests must travel through fourteen mythology themed rooms with traps, monsters, obstacles, and more than an hour of haunting in order to evade their wrath. This interactive haunt tested every limit by uncovering one's most visceral fears. But don’t worry, if things end up too intense for your liking, there is a safe word that will end your experience and get you escorted out to the real world. There was even a VIP lounge sponsored by Granville Island Brewing to enjoy refreshments afterwards. I was asked to come in and take promotional photos while they were open and I even got to test it out myself. It was very well-designed with both physical and cerebral challenges and solid scares. I wasn't able to post photos earlier as we had to keep it all a secret for the guests but now that the haunt is over, and Fearmongers have given me the green light, I can now share the promo photos I took. For the 2016 season, the theme will be based off of classic story books, for example: Hansel & Gretal. They had a preview room from the witch's gingerbread house available with the VIP tickets. Be sure to check them out next season! VCON - Vancouver's premier sci-fi, fantasy, and gaming convention - recently had their 40th convention, held at theSheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond, BC. This year's theme was "time travel" and I was honored to be invited by VCON to join in the fun for four days and be their photographer for the weekend. With so much to see and do, I got a lot of opportunity to take in and capture many events like: cosplay; gaming; speakers/panels; workshops; dances; contests; and so much more to keep you in geek nirvana.
Here are some highlights from the last two days (October 3rd and 4th) at VCON40. You can also check out the images from Day 1 & 2 here: http://www.leahthomphotography.com/blog/vcon40-day-1-and-2 Click on the thumbnails to see full-size images VCON - Vancouver's premier sci-fi, fantasy, and gaming convention - recently had their 40th convention, held at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond, BC. This year's theme was "time travel" and I was honored to be invited by VCON to join in the fun for four days and be their photographer for the weekend. With so much to see and do, I got a lot of opportunity to take in and capture many events like: cosplay; gaming; speakers/panels; workshops; dances; contests; and so much more to keep you in geek nirvana. On the second night, there was even a live "Fandom Feud" game show. Hilarity ensued.
Here are some highlights from the first two days (October 1st and 2nd) at VCON40. Stay tuned for the upcoming blog post featuring day 3 and 4! Click on thumbnails to view full-size images Last week, I was invited to take photos for VCON - Vancouver's premier science-fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention. While sorting through the thousands of photos I took of the four-day event, I pulled out the images to share from one of my favorite parts of the convention - Cosplay. For those who don't know, Cosplay is a portmanteau of the words "costume play", is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character. Most of the participants at VCON made their costumes from scratch, which is a requirement when competing for the glory, bragging rights, and often a nifty prize. I met so many talented and amazing cosplayers who put a lot of work, love, and perseverance into their art.
Click on thumbnails to see full-size images
"Hey you! You've been around for a while..."
Sloan is a great Canadian rock/power pop band from the east and have been around since the early 90's. The band is known for their sharing of songwriting from each member of the group and their unaltered line-up throughout their career. It was a treat to see them perform at the PNE in Vancouver last week and they still sound just as good live as they do in the studio. I included some video below, although I apologize for the shakes. I'm not a videographer. Plus, they made us stand up (and rightly so). :) Click on thumbnails to view full-size images While staying at the Iberostar Grand Hotel, located on Playa Paraiso (Quintana Roo/Cancun) in the heart of the Riviera Maya, we were treated to nightly live entertainment at their theatre. The amazing talent and energy that the performers had was incredible and they do it every evening. One of the nights we were there, we were given VIP seating up front so I was able to get some good views and angles for the camera. Each night they have a different theme (Rock, Beatles, Big Band, 80's, Las Vegas, etc.), and I promise you, they don't disappoint. They love what they do, and it shows in their performances.
Personally, I love the challenge of taking photos in a low-lit theatre with no flash photography. This is where a 50mm prime lens or something else with a wider apeture (f/1.4-1.8) can assist with that by bringing in more light into the lens. The stage lights will play with you and be annoying for some moments, but when timed right, they will work in your favor. Setting the camera at a higher ISO for your shutter speed helps as well. I also used a 75-300mm zoom lens (f/4-5.6) for some shots, but you can see the difference in quality a wider apeture can give. Click on thumbnails to view full-size images Got up early this morning to catch a rare celestial event; the shortest "Blood Moon" total lunar eclipse this century. The moon reached totality for only a couple minutes, and reappeared with a coppery glow. It was quite beautiful to watch.
Okay, back to bed. One of my favorite annual conventions here in Vancouver is Fan Expo. A glorious three-day event where comic, anime/manga, and sci-fi fans congregate with creators, artists, experts, and guest stars. At this geeky shangri-la you'll find; lots of great photo ops, opportunities to meet and greet some awesome celebrities, many panels and workshops to attend, shopping, parties, and one of my favorite parts; cosplay. What is cosplay? It's a portmanteau of the words "costume play", and is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Most of all, it's fun. Although I didn't cosplay myself when I went the last couple years (aside from wearing my Soft Kitty hoodie), but I did get to meet Stan Lee in 2013 and thanked him for the Marvel Universe. Bucket List: CHECK! This year, Fan Expo is during the Easter long weekend (April 3 - 5) so I will only be able to attend one day this year instead of the usual three, but I'd like to share some highlights from the last two conventions until then. While working on my current "movement" project, I was given an opportunity to visit Thunderbird Horse Show Park in Langley, BC. They were having their BCHJA Fall Finals between September 18th - 21st. The good people there gave me a media pass (so I didn't look like a total creeper) and I was free to roam the grounds and take in the events and get some action shots.
"Horses..." (and I say that in my best Elizabeth Taylor impression from National Velvet, when she first arrived at Aintree Racecourse for the Grand National) Yup, that's how I felt when I arrived at my personal Shangri-la. Horses and equestrian sports were a big part of my younger life. I still get opportunities to ride now and then, but it's just not the same. I miss the bond between horse and rider, the training, the grooming, the getting up at 5:00am to feed and turn out horses or getting ready for a show. And yes, even a part of me misses the smell. Some highlights of the day: |
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Leah Thom Photography © 2016 Richmond, BC CANADA |