Long time no see!

Hello, friends!

It’s been a while since my last post here. Well, I think you can understand why: it’s summer, and holidays tend to take priority. But that’s not the only reason I’ve been quiet.

Anyway, here I am, at the end of my vacation. I’m a little sad, as we usually are when holidays come to an end, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to the new opportunities ahead!

Let’s start with the basics.

I finally managed to finish editing all the photos I took at Japan Expo, after the usual preselection process. I ended up with just under 800 edited photos, out of the roughly 3,000 I took during the convention.

Overall, I’m very happy with the results. This is especially true for two photoshoots I had serious doubts about at the time. The conditions were terrible: huge crowds, extreme heat, and challenging lighting. Yet, despite all that, they ended up producing some truly stunning shots. Sometimes photography has a funny way of surprising you!

I’m still posting some of these photos and will continue doing so until the Harajuku Festival at Parc de Bercy.

That said, I’ve once again run into some of the usual problems. I still have some beautiful photos where I simply cannot identify the cosplayers on Instagram, while in other cases, people receive their photos and then disappear without a word.

Every time this happens, I tell myself: “I really should change the way I do things.” But then I get caught up in the moment and carry on as usual... hehehe!

Well, this time I really am going to change things.

Starting with the next convention, I will completely rethink my policy regarding the editing, publishing and sharing of photos. I’ll tell you more about the new approach when the time comes.

Next stop: Harajuku!

Speaking of the next convention, the obvious next stop is Harajuku Festival, on September 12th and 13th.

I had originally considered going to Parco Sigurtà in Italy, where a major cosplay event will take place from September 4th to 6th. But with Harajuku less than a week later, I decided that doing both would simply be too much.

Still, if Harajuku doesn't turn out to be the experience I'm hoping for this year, then next year... Sigurtà it is!

For now, things are still a little uncertain. I have my reasons for saying that, but I won't go into them here. If you're curious, I can give you more details privately.

So, let's see how things develop over the next four weeks.

And what comes after?

I’m still undecided about Paris Manga.

The new venue really wasn't to my liking, but I may still go if I receive enough photoshoot requests to justify being there.

In parallel with my cosplay photography activities, I’ll also be doing some event photography, including a wedding in October as well as a few other celebrations. I’m really happy about these new opportunities, and I’ll tell you more about them when the time comes — without revealing too much in advance, of course!

And that's about it for my news.

I hope you've had, or are still having, a great summer and some wonderful holidays.

Talk to you soon!

Khaled