California Conventions Blog: She likes long, romantic walks on the beach and prefers caramels to chcolates.

On February 12th, I attended the fourth annual Nobody's Destiny Productions Valentines Day event at the Santa Monica Pier here in SoCal. I was the only member of the blog able to attend and I actually wound up making the decision to do so at the very last minute.

So, with one of the most hardcore all-nighters behind me and only tomorrow ahead, I braved the Santa Monica bus route that always seems to give me hell once again for one of the most anticipated cosplay meet ups of the year.

I arrived much earlier than anticipated, and by the time I got to the tents where NDP was already halfway through setting up shop, I was informed that they'd been there since six o'clock that morning! The lovely ladies (and two gentleman) on staff for the day all looked positively exhausted already, but in the way that someone who works very hard starts to get all giggly once they've achieved something truly great. That's my favorite thing about NDP--they're tough cookies.

And while we're on the subject of cookies, this event was a pot-luck, so I brought along some maple cookies to share with everyone. It seemed like baked goods were the favored snack that people would bring in, as expected of Valentines Day. There was plenty of bottled water too, so we were all kept well-hydrated.

As for the rest of their set-up, NDP's games were fun and casual, their contests were well-organized and clever, and all of the cosplayers, both staff and attendees, were so friendly that it was more like a family reunion than a cosplay event. I also got to reconnect with a lot of old friends I haven't seen much lately due to distance, occupation and even fandom.

In fact, one of those people was Sojian, a photographer who I run into at a lot of events and usually chat with about whatever anime is currently airing. The last time we met there was mention of Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt, and when I turned up at the pier as Brief, Sojian asked me if I'd like a photo shoot.

Now, I'm considered an amateur as far as cosplay goes. Not only are my photo-taking skills fairly average, but if you were to give me materials with which to sew a garment from scratch, you couldn't even leave me alone for an hour without some form of destruction occurring. I tend to stick with what I know, and what I know well is thrift shopping, which means "found item" cosplay is right up my alley.

Brief is probably my best work at finding clothes that look like the character's and modifying them to look closer. I'm very proud of how my beach version turned out.

Here are my top three favorites from the photoshoot with Sojian, and you can see more of his photography on his website.