Over the past week, I’ve turned over the basic edits for the mini sessions we did at Gen Con 2024. Now I’m taking a closer look at the final edits for each look in order to create a definitive portrait for each of our wonderful subjects. In the meantime, and speaking of wonderful subjects, I thought I’d share some of the light tests we did at Gen Con, featuring Elizabeth MacDougald.
Distant Era’s MVP, Elizabeth is the best assistant ever, helping set up and take down the studio, assisting subjects with costumes, and even finding us a hotel close to the convention so that we could set up and take down with minimal effort. Oftentimes, before our subjects arrive, I’ll set up the lights and test their levels to make sure they’re ready to go when the first person arrives. Elizabeth is my test subject for these tests, and with all the shoots she’s done, the clients she’s worked with, and the modeling workshops she’s helped conduct, she’s always prepared to strike the perfect pose.
A cosplayer herself, Elizabeth brings several different looks to the conventions she attends. We’ve shown some of these costumes before in previous years, but Elizabeth has added to and upgraded her costumes over time.
Deep Cuts
Two of Elizabeth’s cosplays that have received the most attention lately are her Mara Jade and her Captain Amelia.
For those outside the loop, Captain Amelia is the cat-like captain of the spacefaring RLS Legacy from Disney’s underrated, somewhat forgotten animated film Treasure Planet, a steampunk-space version of Treasure Island. Voiced by Emma Thompson, Captain Amelia demonstrates grace, poise, and wit as she and the other character try to follow the map to Treasure Planet.
Mara Jade, on the other hand, first appeared in Timothy Zahn’s novel Heir to the Empire, which also introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn. In the early 1990s, these novels were at the time the official continuation of the Star Wars story after Return of the Jedi. Mara Jade was the Emperor’s Hand, an assassin bent on hunting down and destroying Luke Skywalker (but eventually marrying him). When the new sequel films arrived, the books became “Star Wars Legends,” and thus outside the official cannon, though the characters and plots have lately begun to surface in both Disney’s animated and live action series. (I have a standing bet with Elizabeth that Mara Jade eventually makes an appearance in some form or fashion.)
For the Love of the Characters
Elizabeth loves to see the faces of fellow fans of these characters light up when she walks by. Obviously neither Treasure Planet nor Mara Jade have been forgotten, but if Disney, like the Time Variance Authority, had a place for shows, films, characters, and ideas they’d discarded for one reason or another, you might find Captain Amelia and Mara Jade stalking those grounds, mingling with Dejah Thoris and Princess Eilowny and Brer Rabbit and the sorceress Yzma and many others. But the fans remember them and love them, and Elizabeth takes pride in bringing a smile to their faces as she parades through the convention in these costumes.
While Elizabeth did have another cosplay for the weekend, we didn’t test the lights on that one, so I’ll save it for another day! Next week, we’ll look at some of the portraits from Distant Era’s 2024 Gen Con sessions!
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