(cos)playing

Yesterday I felt like the universe was trying to prevent me from shooting. Just as I was about to go for a walk with my Rollei it started pouring down. Today I remedied the situation by shooting 3 rolls, one roll of RPX 400 with the Rollei and two rolls of Double-X at ISO 400 in my Olympus XA. And you know what? With this I reached my goal of shooting 100 rolls of film this year and it’s only November!

The pictures I’m showing you today are somewhat special. I took them in Frankfurt when I was there for the book fair. Since the Frankfurt book fair is one of those places where cosplayers meet I asked quite a few of them to pose for me. I don’t normally ask strangers for pictures – normally I prefer candid shots -, but I’m trying to move a bit beyond my comfort zone and practice some portrait photography. Going to places where people are just happy to pose is a great way to build up the confidence to ask strangers who are not dressed up as well. I’m really happy with how these turned out, especially considering that I hardly ever take portraits. One thing I noticed though: Almost everyone seems dead serious! I guess it’s some sort of overcompensation since they are usually a smiling and friendly bunch who walk around giving free hugs to each other. On pictures they do want to be taken seriously though!

All pictures taken with: Rolleicord V, Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 75mm f/3.5.
Rollei RPX 400 stand-developed in Rodinal 1:100, 70min.

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

So much thought went into this whole outfit!

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

The guy actually wanted a couple euros for this picture, because he was desperate to get something to drink and was apparently broke. Since I know how horribly expensive prices for beverages are on trade fairs I didn’t mind at all.

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

This was actually taken before I even reached the fair grounds. I was taking a picture of a skyscraper when these guys appeared out of nowhere. For a moment I thought I was hallucinating, but then I realised that they must be cosplayers and asked them for a picture. The craziest thing about these costumes is actually that they were made to have a bit of wear to them already as if they had been using them for a while. They looked insanely realistic!

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

I spent a bit of time walking around with this lovely young lady while she was going around with her Free hugs sign. She literally stopped every 5 meters to hug someone. Funnily we actually misjudged each other’s age considerably. I guessed her to be a few years older than she was and she actually thought I was around her age. Well, turns out that she was half my age! By the way, her top hat was a lot older than my 60 year old Rollei. It all balances out.

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

I look at the skin tones in this one and I’m really almost certain that this is Kentmere!

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

I couldn’t quite get them on the same focus plane due to space, but I think it works well like this!

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

This was the shot I took when the two futuristic soldiers startled me.

©Lilly Schwartz 2014

© Lilly Schwartz 2014

Normally I would have tried to focus on the figures, but I set up the shot to happen without them first. Only after they were already in the shot did I decide to fire anyway. I really like how this turned out precisely because the out of focus area in the back enhances the early morning haze.

Comments

  • Harry

    What a nice roll of film, Girl with the bones and the skyscraper are just beautiful photographs I bet she would like a copy herself, I would gladly put put both of them on my wall.
    Guy/dog railway crossing is also nice and guy sitting on wall only gripe would be girl with top hat the background distracts in a bad way. I wish I could get on with K400 and I had to google cosplay, .

    Just love those two pictures big time.

    Regards Harry.

    • Lilly Schwartz

      Glad you like the pictures Harry! I agree about the background in the picture of the girl with the top hat, but to be honest, it was the best I could do. This place was incredibly crowded and there were constantly people walking into the shot in front of her. I had to live with the background or leave it altogether.

      Don’t worry about the K400 thing, you’ll figure it out! The Caffenol mix is pretty easy as long as you get the right kind of soda. If you have problems finding it, check the Caffenol Facebook group. They can usually tell you where you can get the right kind in your neck of the woods.

      By the way, if you’re serious about a print for your wall: I would gladly make a limited edition baryta print for you, no problem!

  • ‘Man and dog’ is a wonderful shot. Works precisely because they’re not sharp and so they are placed at a distance, receding as if belonging to a recent past (the tracks convey time-progression). Like it a lot.

    Cosplay = Enjoy your symptom.

    • Lilly Schwartz

      Haha, enjoy your symptom! 😀
      I really like the Man and dog one a lot as well! It’s strange that it’s actually much nicer out of focus!

  • Steve

    Great set of pics: like them all (nice architectural shot)

    • Lilly Schwartz

      Thanks Steve! The architectural shot was quite a challenge actually, because I had problems getting the framing right and the Rollei gets heavy holding it up like that. In the end I managed though and I’m happy with the result!

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