Francis Uayan: Black Ops Operative (C.O.D. Modern Warfare 2)

(I joined the photoshoot held by DOTA Cosplayers at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife last June 8, 2014, but due to the limited time I had that morning for the shoot, I was only able to feature a few cosplayer friends at the event. Hope to shoot more pics on the next photoshoot.)

Hailing from Quezon City, Francis has been at it at cosplay since 2010. As an active member of LARP.ph, he applies his skills and knowledge of military tactics and operations to both his cosplay and larping.


Cosplay had made Francis more confident in dealing with other people (...without pointing a gun, I hope), and gained many friends in the same addiction for anything military.  Cosplay also gives him a chance to bring out and develop his skills in acting and potraying characters.

He comes sometimes as a mercenary, or black-ops freelancer, but he is also well known for his Lt. Simon "Ghost" Riley persona. He hopes that someday, he would able to cosplay Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect, or Zero from Borderlands 2. What ever he comes out as, you can bet your M4A1 he'd be kicking down doors and taking names.

Leighton Alvez: Yoko Littner (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

(I joined the photoshoot held by DOTA Cosplayers at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife last June 8, 2014, but due to the limited time I had that morning for the shoot, I was only able to feature a few cosplayer friends at the event. Hope to shoot more pics on the next photoshoot.)

Lea just started cosplaying by the last quarter of 2013, but now she's making waves and taking names. She first got into cosplay after watching a feature about it on TV and she exclaimed to herself "What a nice hobby...I'm gonna be a cosplayer someday". Then with help from her close friends, she got into making costumes, acting characters and eventually joining cosplay groups.

Aside from acting and getting in character, cosplay also enables her to make new friends with the same hobby and mindset. Her current favorite character to cosplay is Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann, but she hopes someday she can dress up as Ren Kougyoku of the Magi the Labyrinth of Magic series.

Before getting into cosplay, I was able to do a shoot with Lea on a J-Fashion shoot. And through the years, I've been able to see her mature from being shy to an outgoing, uber friendly person. Getting better at poses and being comfortable with who she is. From the girl next door days to now a energy-gun wielding sniper.

ToyCon 2014

I was only able to attend the second day of this year's Toy Convention in Megamall last June 21,2014. The were more merchandisers, more displays, bigger venue, but still, the area for people to go around is still the same, hence, it got more troublesome to move around. The organizers of this event should know by now that there is a different culture on how Filipinos move on from one booth to the other. 

Thinking that using a two-way path is obviously not effective. There needs to be a center two-way movement aisle, and separate that from the area where the buyers look into the merchandise of the booth. Including the area for the buyer as a part of the corridor is not acceptable. Imagine walking, looking at some booth, then you stop because the people in front of you are looking into the goods inside that booth. He stops, you stop... Instant grid lock. Because of this, I just gave up on looking around the merchandise booths and just went outside with some friends. Its way more fun outside because of the cosplayers and various groups that meet and show off. As it turns out the area outside is more fun to be in than being inside the convention.

Maybe the organizers are just maximizing the area for profit, rules of ROI and what not. Thinking that people wont mind this small matter, just throw in a popular J-rock band or a photo op with Alodia to drive them to go in.

But I am glad that they decided to separate the toy exhibit from the sellers. This give the people more time to appreciate the best of the best of what these toy companies and groups can storm up in this kind of toys and hobby convention. 

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With that out of the way, we can now concentrate on the toys. And this year's exhibit was more awesome than last year's. Sellers brought out their best stock and, unfortunately for me, they have the best prices too. 

John Patrick Mabagos: Shu Ouma (Guilty Crown)

(I joined the photoshoot held by DOTA Cosplayers at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife last June 8, 2014, but due to the limited time I had that morning for the shoot, I was only able to feature a few cosplayer friends at the event. Hope to shoot more pics on the next photoshoot.)

I've known John for quite some time now, and he is one of  the most active (and animated) cosplayer I've met so far.

Very friendly and never to shy away from a great chance to act or role-play, He has some good moves to show off along with the that distinct manner of showing attitude with his face. Although, I have trouble picking him out from his usual posse of cosplayers since they sometimes look alike when they put the wig and suit on, and it doesn't help that they sometime rotate characters, which, come to think of it, plays a role in how they expand their ability to get in character.

Angel Montecarlo: "Sakura Kinomoto" (Card Captor Sakura)

(I joined the photoshoot held by DOTA Cosplayers at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife last June 8, 2014, but due to the limited time I had that morning for the shoot, I was only able to feature a few cosplayer friends at the event. Hope to shoot more pics on the next photoshoot.)

Hailing from Taguig City, Angel has been cosplaying for almost a year now, which for her, allows her to create a world different from reality. Aside from all the interesting and like-minded people she gets to meet and be friends with, Angel considers cosplay as a stress relief, a break from the grind of everyday life. Her current favorite character for cosplay is Lucy Heartfilia from the Fairy Tail series but dreams one day to cosplay as Asuka Langley of Evangelion in the future.

I got to work with Angel a few months before in a J-Fashion themed photoshoot, and I must say, she knows how to work with a budding hobbyist like me. Working out the outcome or objective of the shot, be it a story inspired pose or something at the spur of the moment. She projects a certain persona as an extension of either the clothes she's modelling, or the character she's cosplaying.