Ready, Set, Shoot! 📸

Self-Portrait with my Samsung Galaxy S7 - I have since upgraded bags and my phone to S8+

Hi all! I hope everyone's weekend has treated them well! Today's blog is actually about my photography hobby. Last month, I purchased the Sony Alpha A6000 in black with some accessories to go along with it. I've also gotten very involved with the portrait photography world down in Southern California. By involved, I mean that I've been going to various "street meets. Street meets are typically informal photography gatherings where photographers and models meet and do collaborative shoots. Depending on the location of the meets, some models might do fire performances or smoke performing. It makes for really nice shots. I have a preference to attend street meets on the weekends because I am noticing that those tend to be at actual locations as opposed to the weekday meets that end up being on random streets. I avoid those mostly because they attract unwanted attention at times. My favorite street meet was actually mermaid themed at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. I'm really excited to show you guys my photography. I will photograph anyone that asks nicely at conventions, gatherings,  or street meets. I am the furthest from being a photography elitist that only shoots well known people. Open minded photography is the best kind of photography and allows a photographer to grow their skills. I don't think I would ever consider myself as a pro even when I start doing photography as a side-business next year because that means I'll stop growing. Here are my main takeaways from being a photographer: mutual respect between fellow photographers is an amazing thing, network and get to know your models, never stop allowing room for growth, and most importantly of all, just have fun. Not everything has to be a competition. Now without further ado, here's some of my favorite shots from my A6000. All of these were edited in the Lightroom App with portraits occasionally also edited in Airbrush.

Taken at the L.A. Cosplay shootout - Model: @annjelife

Taken at the mermaid themed street meet  - Model: @jayylivefastdiepretty

Taken at the mermaid themed street meet -Model: @jesssickaaa

Taken at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, CA

Taken at Irvine Spectrum Center and edited with color pop

That's all for now everyone ! I hope you like my work! Let me know in the comments below if you want to see my editing process & I'll try and make it happen. Also, portraits vs landscape, which do you prefer? (In general, I mean).

Till next time!

-Hachi 

All Aboard the Hype train! Dwayne Johnson x LACC

Hi all! Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con (aka Comikaze Expo) is fast approaching and I would like to let you all know about a newly confirmed guest appearance! You all know him either through high octane films such as Fast Five or through the WWE circuit, that's right, Dwayne Johnson, aka the Rock is going to be at Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con to discuss the new Jumanji film! This will take place on Saturday, October 28th. Please refer to the below press release for more information! Also, might I add, all attendees will receive a full year of Entertainment Weekly with their badge purchases.

Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con Logo

Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con and Official Media Partner ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Announce Appearance by Dwayne Johnson at L.A.’s Mega Pop Culture Gathering at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 28

For Immediate Release:

LOS ANGELES, CA (Thursday, October 12) – Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con and Time Inc.’s (NYSE: TIME) ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (EW), the official media partner of the 2017 edition of L.A. Comic Con, announced today that Dwayne Johnson will make a special appearance at the convention. On Saturday, October 28, Johnson will appear on behalf of his upcoming film “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which hits theatres December 20. The 3-day pop culture extravaganza runs from October 27-29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. 

As the Official Media Partner, EW is collaborating with L.A. Comic Con to enhance and elevate talent participation and programming for the over 100,000 attendees expected for this year’s 3-day mega-convention.  EW will feature all the fun and excitement of the Convention in the magazine as well as on EW.com.  And to top it all off, each and every badge holder will receive a one-year subscription to America’s leading pop culture magazine, with a total combined audience of 26 million consumers.

Badges are available now at http://StanLeesLAComicCon.com.

2017 marks the 7^th year for Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic Con, which has grown into one of the largest gatherings of stars and creative talent in comic book, publishing, gaming, film, broadcast, cable and streaming entertainment. 

About Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con:

Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con is Los Angeles’ biggest and best large-scale, multi-media pop culture convention. Held annually at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic Con assembles the most exciting and innovative in comics, video games, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and all things pop-culture. With a mission to provide celebrity, creator and talent access that is unequalled in comic conventions, Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con features unique panels, autograph sessions and photo-ops that give fans once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to truly interact with their favorite creators and major players in the entertainment industry.  Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con is a partnership of Stan Lee’s Pow! Entertainment, Cassandra Peterson, and Comikaze Entertainment, Inc.  Visit http://www.stanleeslacomiccon.com/.

ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY is your all-access pass to Hollywood’s most creative minds and most fascinating stars. The magazine was launched by Time Inc. in 1990 and is America’s leading consumer publication in the entertainment category, with a guaranteed circulation rate base of 1.5 million and a combined audience of almost 28 million loyal, engaged fans.  Each day, EW.com publishes a myriad of featured stories, news articles, TV-recaps, original videos, film reviews and photo galleries. The PEOPLE/ENTERTAINMENT WEEKKLY Digital Network continues to rank as the #1 site in its competitive set with close to 100 million monthly unique visitors. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY is the first to know about the best in entertainment. With sharp insight, unparalleled access and a trusted voice, EW keeps readers plugged into pop culture. This is where the buzz begins.



Hope to see you all there! I'll be at the con all three days, so if you're a cosplayer wanting to do a shoot, feel free to contact me by email or comment down below.

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

Welcome to the Grave Harvest

Hi all! We are three weeks away from Halloween! Isn't that exciting?! I feel like Halloween is a favorite holiday of many cosplayers. As a result, several conventions, parties, and gatherings happen this month. I was recently at a Halloween con, this past weekend, called Grave Harvest in Fullerton, CA. I got to be a part of the press and spent a majority of my day there. I would like to tell you all about this con and hope you like what you see!

I decided to be Vampire Harley with a dress that I upcycled from the thrift store, my Timeless Trends corset (I'll be doing a full review on that later), and my Sony A6000.

Grave Harvest 2017 was the convention's second year in operation. It was at a very affordable price of $10, online only. It is also a one day con, which is good for conventions just starting out to do. It allows the organizers to gauge the interests of the attendees and eventually decide whether to change locations or add more days to the con. Guests were greeted by friendly and enthusiastic staff, which was a wonderful way to start out the day. As press, we were also welcomed with cookies from one of the vendors, Lucky 13 Sweets and Treats, based out of Costa Mesa, CA. They were some great cookies, as well! :)

There were two rooms full of vendors and I took it upon myself to interact with as many vendors as I could, collect their cards, and take photos of their goods. That will be shown below in slideshow format. The vendors were extremely nice, cordial, and welcoming. All of them were very enthusiastic about the con too. Some of the vendors stuck out to me more than others given the uniqueness of their craft, but all of the vendors that I interacted with were friendly and open to talking with me about their items.



I also attended two of the three workshops during the con. The first was Skeleton Corpsification led by Larry Carr. He demonstrated by usage of latex, cloth, and spray paint how to make a plain skeleton look like a mummified corpse. It was extremely cool and well received as I counted over 50 people in attendance. I don't even always see those numbers in my own panels I participate in at larger comic book conventions! The other panel I attended was in regards to making armor out of EVA foam called Foam Fabrication 101. That panel was very relevant to me as I am a cosplayer and have made my own armor before. While this panel had much smaller numbers, it made for a more intimate experience. The workshop coordinator, Dave King, did a very good job explaining the ins and outs of armor building and even stayed later to talk with us all.

I ended my day by looking at the hearses outside and left feeling good about the con's atmosphere. I really hope they do it again next year. Here is a complete list of all of the vendors at the convention, so I hope you check them all out and help support their passions!


Well everyone, that's all for today's blog! I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned to my next con related blog when I "cosplay" as a member of the press for Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con, always known as Comikaze Expo! Do any of you dress up for Halloween? Let me know in the comments below !

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

October/Autumn Favorites!

Hi all! Happy October! This is one of my favorite months because it's almost Halloween! :D So I'll do a list of my October/Autumn favorites for this blog! :)

October Favorites:


Fashion: I love dressing fairly casual during this time of the year. My go-tos are bootcut jeans, long flowy skirts, cardigans (when it's actually cold in Southern California), and simplistic t-shirts/tanks. If I do wear a dress, it's usually with boots and leggings. :)

Typical Autumn clothing - stock photo

Makeup: Darker shades of blue and purple for my eye shadow, thin tipped liquid eyeliner pens, black brown eyebrow liner, and NW-45 powder foundation.  My go-to brands are Urban Decay for the eye shadows, Rimmel London for the eyebrow and eyeliners, and MAC for the powder foundation. (There is nothing wrong with drugstore makeup! ) Occasionally, I'll wear a darker berry lipstick/gloss and that will typically be from Maybelline,  Rimmel London, or Sephora brand.

Make up for darker skinned women - stock photo

Drink: Apple cider has probably got to be the best thing ever for the autumn months. Whether it's sparkling apple cider, alcoholic apple cider, or hot apple cider, that is my go to drink. While most people flock to the PSL (which I had only one so far since they came out, sadly it was very watery tasting and sort of lack luster.  Thanks alot Sbucks!), my love is apple cider.

Apple Cider - stock photo

Meal: Something that I enjoy eating in the month of October/Autumn and pretty much all year long is Pho. Rare beef pho. It is probably the most amazing soup ever. I can even eat it in 100 degree weather. Crazy, I know. If anyone's turned off by the name, the beef actually gets "cooked" by the broth's heat. For me, I prefer rare beef pho to the well done beef pho because rare beef pho has a much softer texture.

Rare Beef Pho - stock photo

Movie: For the Halloween season, I love binge watching Harry Potter movies. I am still waiting on my Hogwarts letter, it's about 14 years late. :( I'm totally blaming the owl on that, by the way. Also, Slytherin represent! Woot woot! Anyway, I also enjoy watching Hocus Pocus, but Harry Potter is my all time favorite.  Side note: My favorite HP book is The Order of the Phoenix, which also happens to be my least favorite movie.  Oddly enough my least favorite book was The Half Blood Prince, but my least favorite movie is The Goblet of Fire.

Ron (left), Harry (middle), and Hermione (right) - stock photo

Nail Color: Any shade of blue or purple is also my go-to nail color for the autumn season. Last Halloween, I had Harley Quinn nails, but this year, I am looking for more of a simpler look.

Nail Polish - stock photo

Hope you enjoyed this blog post! Stay tuned for next week's blog! Also, leave you October or Autumn favorites in the comments below! :)

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

Japanese Garden Clean-up (October)

Hi all! So sorry for the late blog! I have been so busy lately, that I basically get home from work and lounge around reading manga, but it's my usual 3-day weekend now, so I am here to write! Well in this blog, mostly show pictures. I'll write more in my next one and try to get back to biweekly. :)  A few weeks ago,  I helped the international relations council for the Tohoku, Japan area, I am a part of with the Japanese garden clean up. Here are some pictures of the garden. :)

Complete garden photo

Gazebo

 

Water Fountain

The opening gate - middle kanji means heart, but not quite sure what the first and last one are. I forgot them. :/

Clouds, palm trees, normal trees, and sun.

Maybe it's a mini pagoda?

Me in front of the gate, probably tanning.....

Lunch! Amazing salad, croissant sandwiches, and kettle chips

I was pruning the flowers.

Do any of you like to do community service projects? Or what kind of projects are you involved in? Let me know in the comments below.


Till next time!

-Hachi

Lipstick Paradise

Hi all! Another weekend is about to come to an end, and I hope you have all had a restful time! So today I decided to play around with the lipsticks I own. These lipsticks are on Mac NW45 skin with L'Oreal Nut Brown highlighting under base. Instead of spamming my post with a billion photos, I decided to Photo Grid the pictures based on each color and far view/close up. I hope you enjoy!

410 Blissful Berry - Maybelline (Favorite)

540 (Moisture Renew) Burgundy Lustre -Rimmel

900 Red Alert - Rimmel

Confession - Urban Decay

All Heart - Clinique (probably my least favorite because it's too shimmery)

If you have any lipstick recommendations for darker skinned individuals, please let me know in the comments below.




Till Next Time!

-Hachi

"Yes to." Product Review

Hi all!

Sorry it's been so long in between blogs, I have been rather busy this week with work, and an online class I am quite "over". Since I am due for another blog anyway, and I just tried out a product for the first time, I will give a product review on it.


So if you remember in my old blog about my Target Super Mini Haul, I purchased the Yes to. Cucumbers Soothing Hypoallergenic Facial Wipes. I haven't had a chance to test them out until today so I did and have a bit to say about them.

Stock Photo of Yes to. Cucumber Soothing Hypoallergenic Facial Wipes

Firstly, the moistness of the towels is really good. To reiterate, it didn't come out of the packet mostly dry after a while like some do when purchased.

You could also really smell the cucumber in it. Intensely. In fact, almost overpowering. For some, that might be pretty awesome, but for me, it was a little too much.

Finally, application of the towel in makeup removing. It removed make up quite well, but remember how I said this is supposed to be hypo-allergenic? The reason I bought it in the first place? Well unfortunately, I guess it wasn't hypo-allergenic enough for me because soon after I applied it to my face, my whole face started to burn and itch. Hopefully I don't get a rash, but I have Benadryl just in case. I was so disappointed with what happened, that I can't even use the other nine towels.

Rating: 1/10, point going for moistness. The smell and the itching/burning of my face made my rating go way down. I would like to try their other products, but now I am a bit worried the same thing will happen again. Hopefully not.


So I decided to check the product reviews on their actual website and I am not the only person who got mild skin irritation from this. Other reviews discuss redness, burning, itching, rawness. I hope if you have or will try this product that it does not happen to you as well. So far, thirty minutes have passed and my face still itches. Sigh.

Update: One full hour has went by and I have applied my anti-itch cream. It took some of the irritation away, mostly natural, as well. Maybe I'll do a review on it later.




Has this ever happened to you before? Where something hypo-allergenic caused minor, mild, or major skin irritation on you? Also, what hypoallergenic skin care products do you recommend? Let me know in the comments below.



Till Next Time!

Hachi