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it's own challenges. It wasn't going to be like the wide open areas of the Anaheim Convention
Center, where Anime Expo and Pacific Media Expo were held. The gardens of the Valencia Hyatt
were tiny in comparison. The hotel's Topiary Garden seemed to be the gathering spot of choice. I
looked at the forums on cosplay.com to find photos of the area. When I first saw photos of the
location, I thought "Why do they only show this small corner of the garden?" When I arrived at the
site, I discovered that the small corner that I saw in the photo was basically the entire Topiary
Garden. It was slightly larger than my studio apartment.
The location provided some very nice floral backgrounds and a few fairly long brick paths, which I
like. There were parts of the area that were covered in shade throughout the day--another aspect
that I like. However, the trees and overhangs in other areas also provided my most hated
conditions to shoot in--the much dreaded patchy shade. Another highlight was the pool area used
for the Final Fantasy Swimsuit session. I saw that pool and I knew exactly what I wanted to do for
individual shots and I was fortunate to get a few.
The confined spaces meant that I couldn't use my favorite lens too much. There wasn't enough
room to back up as far as I need to. So, I used the short lens most of the time and just went for it.
permission.
All photos are reduced from their original size of 3000 X 2000 pixels. If you would like an original file, please contact me by email or instant
messenger. Please specify filename (ex: axfriday1). Do not specify costume or character because I might not know what you are talking about.