My Passion for Photography and People
I love to practice, practice, and practice. Above all, people are my favorite subject. In fact, like a snowflake, each person is unique—whether it’s ethnicity (nationality and skin color), hair color (natural or dyed), hair texture, height, or face shape. Of course, we’ve all heard that everyone has an “evil twin” out there… and some of you have the nice twin. You know who you are—just playing!
How I Got Into Anime Movies
To begin with, I got into anime through movies. My first film was Ghost in the Shell. Although I’m not typically into sci-fi, as a Linux computer enthusiast, I immediately loved it. After that, I watched Princess Mononoke and then Appleseed, and I was completely hooked on anime movies. Some of my other favorites include Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Akira, and Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.
My First Anime Expo Experience in Anaheim
Soon after, I attended my first anime convention near home. That’s when I discovered Anime Expo (AX) in Anaheim, California. I started taking photos at AX 2006 at the Anaheim Convention Center. At that point, I realized something important—these were your photos.
So, I began giving them back to cosplayers. Since I didn’t have email at the time, I posted the photos online so everyone could access them. As a result, socalcosplayphotog and my Instagram (@_cosplayphotog) were born.
Finding Anime Conventions in California and Beyond
If you’re looking for anime conventions in California, Hawaii, Washington, or Oregon, I can help—and you might even find your photos! While I haven’t attended every event, you can explore a full list of California anime conventions on my website or Instagram.
Notably, my first out-of-state convention was KawaiiKon 2009 at the Honolulu Convention Center in Hawaii.
Favorite Anime Series and Shows
In addition, since there are far more anime series than movies, I started watching those too. Some of my favorites include Ghost in the Shell, Yojimbo, Hell Girl, Chobits, Ghost Hunt, Case Closed, Fruits Basket, Mermaid Forest, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto, High School Rumble, Please Teacher!, Please Twins!, and Bleach—just to name a few.
Attending Anime Conventions Across California
As my passion grew, I naturally wanted to go where the fans are. That’s how I ended up attending so many anime conventions. While I’m not a die-hard expert on every cosplay, I do watch a ton of anime.
In general, I try to attend as many Southern California conventions as possible, along with some in Northern California. However, I occasionally miss smaller events due to family commitments or other expos.
Favorite Anime Conventions
Among my favorites are Anime Impulse OC, Sakura-Con, Pacific Media Expo (PMX), and Anime Los Angeles (ALA).
Additionally, I’ve always wanted to attend Autumn Dream (Ani-Magic) before it ended its 10-year run, as well as SacAnime. Anime Las Vegas was another fun event before it stopped; however, it has since been replaced by several new conventions.
Free Cosplay Photography & Photo Access
In addition, I mostly use events to test new equipment and provide photos to cosplayers for free. However, photos must be requested via DM (Instagram) or email.
Because I value privacy, I only share photos with the people I photograph. For this reason, I upload images to Google Drive, which requires email access to view and download. I even made a page with the ones that follow me and forgot me. featured cosplayers list but of course not everyone I have taken photos of, I am sorry, I am so far behind.
Finally, thanks again for visiting!