If you ask the average costumer or cosplayer, Masquerade is the highlight of WonderCon and pretty much every convention. After shedding blood, sweat, tears, and funding to complete their costumes, costumers of various age and skill wanted to show the fruits of their labors on the stage of the Esplanade Ballroom. Whether through walk-ons or sketches, the costumed performers performed while the audience ooh'd and ah'd while the judges judged. Meanwhile, the trigger-happy members of the photographic Press would miss those performances in order to photograph those wonderful costumes backstage. We work hard and sacrifice hard for you.
After dinner with Charie, Rose, Dennis, and Janelle Ann, I returned to the Moscone Center. Between stopping for photos, stopping to take photos, stopping to admire the long line, and stopping to figure out where Press had to go to get backstage, I killed a lot of time before finding my entry point.
Following an unusually long detour through the service alleys, I found BART Boy, EBK Al, Mike, and other photographers setting up the photography area and getting angry at the caterers for removing the pasta and cheesecake we could have eaten during this long night. The official photographer for Masquerade judging shot Polaroids of the costumes to send to the judges. We managed to snap a few shots of a few costumes along with him before the official Masquerade.
Kei and I volunteered as test targets for the backdrop. We came to blows just to see how The Spirit's abilities matched up against Death the Kidd's guns while determining the range for group shots. I got curious and checked out the technology used to display the video on the stage. The amount of equipment was mildly staggering.
As we finalized the backdrop and firing squad positions, Phil Foglio the MC began the show and the costumes began trickling in after their performances. I shot what I could where I could. The average was 10 shots per act with an emphasis on covering fire. Whatever wasn't fuzzy or dark made it on here.
One suggestion I would make for Masquerade is a printed list of the acts with the costumes and series from where they came. One large printout mounted backstage would make it easier to identify acts since some were not as familiar as others.
As per my usual inability to remember who won what combined with not seeing any of the acts and the pressing need to catch one of the last BART trains of the night, I jetted home after the last act. I only stopped to snap a few pictures of costumes including a phallic Rorschach mask courtesy of Tog. On the BART station, I ran into Hoan, a previous acquaintance from the recent Animation on Display, and her cadre. We rode the BART together until I had to hit my transfer. It was a smooth trip home minus the fact I was still wearing my mask during most of the trip.
Pictures are copyright by Traveling Valentine. If we took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by a font of some sort. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.