Last weekend was My second Comic Con event ever, Cardiff Film & Comic Con and it was amazing. I tell you why.
Last year I decided to dive deep into the world of cosplay and comic con as I went out with my backpack flash rig shooting cosplayers and celebrities. While I was in the event my focus turned from celebrities to these awesome people in costumes. You can read all about this story here:
https://anttikarppinen.com/2014/11/all-about-the-fans/
So what was different this time?
EVERYTHING was different. After my first images of the comic con I started to get to know who these people were, what they do, how much effort they put into these costumes. They are like this one BIG family that just enjoys doing what they do. They promote each others work, do stuff together and are just awesome friends. My key into the circle was my images of them, a bit different from the usual stuff. And I was really happy providing these images for them.
I was really looking forward to this event and I decided that I will push myself even further with the images, taking a bit more gear with me this time. I found this quiet corner in the Cosplayers lounge, setup my flashes and started taking pictures again.
Two days straight, over 2000 pictures, over 200 different characters. Just amazing. And all this just as my own project and giving back to these guys that truly deserve all the attention possible. Without them these events would be basically nothing.
These guys are not anymore just faces with fancy dresses, they are Scott, Adam, Pete (classy proposal mate!), Bekah, Kristian, Bella, Kristen, JD, Carl, Caitlin, Kate .. .. they are my friends. And I will miss you guys when I leave back to Finland.
So this time in Cardiff Film & Comic Con it was all about them! Didn’t take any pictures of the celebrities. I just wanted to make as many people happy as possible. And I’m sure I did.
I did also my first cosplay myself: I went out taking pictures as Tony Stark 😀
So here are just a fraction of the best pictures of my friends! Amazing Family of CFCC 2015!
And couple of special retouches ..
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- Tombraider
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- Streetfighter Poison
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- Bunch of Deadpools
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- Captain America
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- Scorpion
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- Daredevil
Carl Plowright
March 25, 2015
When i met you last year and you asked to take my picture, even though i had never met you before i thought what a nice guy.
You took some awesome shots of me and all the others on the weekend and i would like to say that when you go back to Finland you will be missed my friend.
Antti Karppinen
March 25, 2015
Thank you Carl! You are pretty damn cool yourself!
Bekah Shambrook
March 25, 2015
I’ll miss you too when you go back to Finland! You’ll have to come back and visit… Or I’ll have a good excuse to visit Finland, do you have any conventions there? 😉
Anyhow, you started Comic Cons the same time as me which is kind of brilliant! Thank you for being so awesome. ^_^
Andy W
March 25, 2015
Hopefully Showmasters and other con organisers will hire you to do what you do best, shoots and talks. Added value for those attending cons.
Kate Porter
March 25, 2015
We’ll miss you lots when you leave! Thanks for taking so many incredible photos of us all! Your work phenomenal and you are extremely talented. I wish you lots of luck for the future!
Dean Evans
March 25, 2015
Your pictures are amazing. So glad I got the chance to have my cosplay jedi photographed by you. You are a great bloke as well. You will be missed but all the best for your journey.
Paul Pearson
March 26, 2015
Hey i just read this and wanted to say you made the con great for me and some friends, if you ever come back let us know- even if you start xharging a poiujd a go!
paul pearson
March 26, 2015
I think my autocorrect just died . charging a pound ago ;D
Adam Morley
April 02, 2015
Hey, I just kind of stumbled upon your work, and I wanted to say what you’ve done is stunning. Your attention to detail, and ability to capture both the character that these cos-players are portraying, and the personality of the person inside the costume is absolutely beautiful. I think your work shows a lot of promise, and I wish you luck with your dream of making movie posters. As an actor myself I really appreciate the unique aspect of capturing the character, and the cos-players themselves. It really brings out all the hard work that these people put into their costumes, and the love that is held throughout the world of cos-playing. Seriously, keep up what you’re doing, it’s breathtaking.
Antti Karppinen
April 02, 2015
Thank you Adam for kind word. In my first ever Comic Con I was just amazed of these people. I took these kind of photos then and wrote this blog about the true heroes of Comic Con : https://anttikarppinen.com/2014/11/all-about-the-fans/
I will try keep on shooting these and you never know what will happen some day 😀
Mark Stewart
April 02, 2015
Love your shots from Comic Con. Very original and eyecatching. Fair play for showing the lighting set up too. I love your post processing work. Any chance you could share some more about that side of things.
Kerryanne
April 03, 2015
Came across your work by accident and love it. The capturing of the character and making each personality shine through is fab. As someone who never grew up from playing with costumes and becoming my fav characters will certainly looking out for more of your work
Pete
April 26, 2015
I had liked all my life the pictures of Boris Vallejo and now seem to been born new generation of those kind of pictures … Nice.
Antti Karppinen
April 26, 2015
Been BIG fan of Vallejo all my life .. and tried to find my own style to do art. Thank you for comments!!