Event - Comic Con Brussels 2022

november 02, 2022

Do you know the movie: "The good, the bad and the ugly"?
Let's use those 3 words to analyse this event.

But 1st for those new visitors:

ATM I have finshed processing all pictures from RAW-files (= digital negatives) to JPG's (= generally viewable photo files) with some good music coming through the speakers.

Samples & updates will be added to this page so you can follow the progress. (Same with Facebook which might be easier to follow for updates)
All 150'ish images have been posted HERE on Flickr. (= much better photo quality than social media & a good hiding place for an asocial, creative ambivert)
Once enough photos are ready they will be added to some video footage from the event for reels on Instagram & on Clapper.

So how was this Comic Con?

THE GOOD

▲ Using the hall "Gare Maritime" for the event (even if only for the Geek Market). Yes, it is a beautiful hall. Yes, the natural light is gorgeous. Finally an indoor fair with some nice spots instead of only grey concrete walls.
▲ Parking space underneath the event (and yes, it filled up véry fast)
▲ The cosplayers. Eventhough less than 10% of the visitors was in cosplay there were some spledid costumes and several were already in Halloween-mood.
▲ A good diversity of guests. No, I don't care about actor-autographs and prices have reached crazy heights since I made the actor-pictures on FACTS. 200€/per person for 1 photo with actor+car, 350€/pp for an autographed picture+a screening of the very first Back to the Future-movie. Jawdrop.
▲ Merch-merch-merch. And not just anime merch. People came to shop. People went home with stuff. And I tasted nice whisky fudge. I must admit that several dealers complained about the safety of their products and the price for a spot on the Geek Market.
▲ The crew was friendly. I haven't found many who spoke Dutch, but who cares: I speak more than 1 language so I easily adapt.
▲ No (cellphone) snipers making shots from behind my back while I was making a cosplayer pose for me. Other photogs waited till I was done. That was refreshing.
▲ The bar-food part of la Gare Maritime & the few food trucks. (enjoyed those wraps)
▲ The people we were with & ran into. Big thumbs-up.

THE BAD

► My bad: we went by accident on Saturday. The line at the gate was endless till 1PM and the main hall was so crowded we left it after 5 minutes. Impossible to move or to make a photo. The Geek Market had some more breathing space for a while.. until it got just as crowded. I hope Sunday was less overcrowded.
► Having 2 physically separated halls. This time it was a perfect Indian Summer day, but changing halls in cosplay, with autographed posters, with a wheelchair,.. Imagine a rainy day. It would have been disastrous .. and everybody would be smelling like wet dogs.
► For wheelchair bound visitors both halls were a nightmare. Only 1 entry ramp to reach the main hall (with the bracelet distribution).The pathways between the stalls were not very wide. Too crowded to move. Impossible to get over the cables crossing the paths without help. It might have been a smart trick to get us to spend more time at the bar.. but still: I would have liked to see every part of the fair and this was simply impossible. We managed a quick wheelchair tour throught the main hall at 5PM when most of the masses had left, but it's a waste of money to buy expensive entry tickets and only be able to spend the last hour inside.
► I'm not going to complain about the Q&A sound.. didn't really have the opportunity to enjoy those Q&A panels. But a separate, less noisy location would be an upgrade.

THE UGLY

▼ Gate crashers are not by definition an ugly thing, but it becomes ugly when some of those are simply coming to behave like assholes, steal and mock the geeks.
▼ Read some unsettling stories of cosplayers getting groped/touched up and of a (or a few?) photog(s) proposing indecent shots. Maybe they should have read this article about Cosplay Photography Etiquette or simply be better humans. Not everyone with a camera is a photographer! I tried not to snipe strangers. Don't think any pictures can be seen as indecent proposals. Did my best to behave socially & communicative (yes, that costs loads of energy for an intro/ambivert). At least I think..

A RANDOM AFTERTHOUGHT

After a Summer event I had a very interesting discussion with a cosplayer about me refraining from photographing skimpy cosplays (because I see so many creepy photogs flocking around them and I don't want to associated with those). After that discussion I decided to take a deep breath, overcome myself and step up to cosplayers with less textile aswel.. starting 2023.

However: I practice the same restraint for kids in cosplay. During events/festivals I try to avoid photographing kids in general unless the parents ask for a picture or are part of the shot. One obvious minor in cosplay I did make a picture of during Comic Con, but she was looking so bored & unhappy and the mother said it was okay. (You should have seen her smile proudly after seeing the photo on-camera).
That same evening I read an FB-post of anther mother complaining nobody had stepped up to her children for a photo. "They are so proud of their costumes", she said, "but none of the photographers seemed to acknowledge them." Sad, but at the same time is photographing their kids a big no-no for many other parents.

There are always 2 sides to a coin. No solution/decision/resolution will please everyone or be good for all. Still you have to make them and live with them when possible.

Summary of the rant: if you see me during an event → just ask for a picture!