CosWorld | LiveJournal | facebook

---

the trip that changed my life

little was ever publicized about the origins about my current perpetual passion with photography, particularly, cosplay photography.

i wish not to elaborate here but in a separate journal entry, for it is a tale that truly changed my life, and it would be a true shame had i left out any details. but a brief overview is that, during the summer of 2007, i was in japan for a month for a language program. there, i had my first encounter with cosplay, and around the same time, i picked up my first digital SLR. perhaps nothing in my life resonated more than the concurrence of those two events. i suddenly found passion in two fields, and this later elevated to become a major driving force in my life.

perhaps it is hard to anticipate any outcome grander than those of that trip, but i would be lying if i say i'm not at all excited about my flight to tokyo in five hours.

actually this trip seems too good to be real. i will be flying on a japanese airline for the first time (something that i am actually really excited about for some reasons XD); i will be doing overseas travel during the middle of school year (something my parents would normally rage about had i told them about); i will, for the first time, be received by a local friend; i have a mental list of exciting destinations and things to buy; i will reunite with my girlfriend after four months of separation; above all, there is perhaps nothing more romantic for this reunion to take place in a country we mutually love: Japan.

perhaps such is my life.

i bare with the endless suffering that is school, and in return i trade for those short term euphoria.


cosworld

a broken promise is quite painful.

for this i apologize to you all for not having cosworld launch on time.

here, i will offer a few explanations, and i hope you will not take them as excuses:

1. the new version of cosworld, although finished and technically functioning, was found to have some serious flaws when used on internet explorer or safari. the development was done mostly with firefox as the testing platform, so some part of the code needs to be rewritten to compensate differences in browser technology.

2. some parts of the new version was completed only to the level of being functioning. there are some minor deficiencies that i wish to fix prior to launch.

3. since late last week i was bombarded with a series of academically related events that lead to a dramatic increase in personal stress levels. i think it is quite selfish for such personal issue to affect the site in such a magnitude, and i promise i will better spread the workload amongst other developers so we can balance progress even if one of us has to take a short break.

so the new launch date? personally i wish it can be launched by next monday, although this is no guarantee. but i want to do this so people can start using them for their photos from various conventions from this weekend.


AFA

which leads to my next topic, AFA.

for some reasons i've been quite immersed in the singaporean cosplay circle, or at least i feel so from all of you singaporean friends on DA.

since the end of this past summer, i've been inquired about AFA by cosplayers from several countries. while i personally wish that i can go, but personal relationships have to take priority for this coming weekend (actually, my girlfriend and i actually thought about the scenario of she flying from tokyo and me from chicago to singapore for AFA. but the thought was shut down because we knew we'd both be busy at the convention, leaving no time for us to spend with each other)

in any case, i wish all of you good luck and have fun.

please help me say hi to fellow cosplayers and kaname. (actually i thought about meeting him during this tokyo trip, but i realized that hes going to singapore XDDD)


photoshop

i am not going to deny it, all of the photos you see in my gallery is processed through lightroom and/or photoshop. it is an important tool that, when used right, can greatly enhance photos.

photoshop (formally post-processing) in itself is, in my opinion, an essential skill for any photographer. while the software is quite available (legally or illegally), many seem to ponder about how to manage this tool.

i am no master in photoshop, but from time to time i am approached with questions regarding it. while i am more than willing to share tips, i've struggled with the optimal way to share them unless it is presented in person.

i've learned photoshop through personal trial and error. the process is slow, but could have been greatly accelerated had i had someone guiding me.


then spawns an idea from a fellow cosplay photographer: weekly photoshop challenge.


this is an event, in brief, where one person supplies the raw image, and everyone is free to photoshop and submit it. throughout the process, we will peer-critique each other, and a winner will be selected at the end of the week.

this will tentatively take place on coswold forum, with its own dedicated board. but i will flush you with details once it is more complete.





if you've read this far, i applaud you patience and ability to bare through my plain words. again, if you happen to be at AFA this weekend, good luck, have fun, and please share my love to fellow cosplayers. else, have a great weekend.

---

---