Click on all pictures for a larger view. All pictures copyright Magnum Arts
The best of the pictures I shot from DragonCon 2013. Above is myself hanging with Lee Majors, The Six Million Dollar Man himself, the height of my Dragoncon this year. He was there with Lindsay Wagner, aka The Bionic Woman, and I attended a very cool discussion panel with them both; video and pictures are below!
Last Dragoncon, written and performed by Deena Roth, all rights reserved
Power Rangers in my bed, There's a brain slug on my head, Think my costume might be ruined, Don't remember this tattoo, I think I'm still seeing stars, Jedis passed out in the hall, Think I need a Dr. Who, Is that a Trekkie or a grue?
Staying up all night, Cause the con suite's right next door, Oh well. Oh it's all a blur, but I know for sure I scored. Frak!
[CHORUS:]
Last Dragon*Con, Yeah we gamed all night with Spock, We saw Han take the first shot, I made out with an Ewok, Last Dragon*Con, Got to meet Jean-Luc Picard, And that chick from Battlestar, It was all a bit bizarre, Last Dragon*Con, Saw you at Dragon After Dark
You kind of looked like Tony Stark, And I think I felt a spark, Last Dragon*Con
Yeah, we tore the place apart, Think we may have gone to far, Whoa-oh
But this Dragon*Con, Do it all again! This Dragon*Con, Do it all again!
Can't believe that I forgot Am I in the Marriott? How'd I end up in this room? What the heck did I consume? Dressed up like the Baroness, Having drinks with Boba Fett, Think that ale was Romulan, That was such an epic win!
Bumblebee, Starscream, It's a fangirl's dream and more! Oh yeah Oh it's all a blur, But I know for sure I scored! Frak!
[CHORUS]
But this Dragon*Con, Do it all again! This Dragon*Con, Do it all again!
So say we all! (x8)
[CHORUS]
But this Dragon*Con, Do it all again!
And so it begins.
I did the driving this year, with four of us in the Magnum Mobile, which was packed to the hilt with our gear. We had a rooftop car carrier jammed with overnight bags, food we would consume during our stay, and costumes.
Below: Arriving at the Hilton is always hectic, a scramble to get a luggage cart and get the gear up to the room before rushing off to grab the Dragoncon passes.
Once we have gotten our Dragoncon passes it is time to relax, which means dinner at the Hard Rock cafe with food and beer. Let the madness begin!
Time to relax in front of the Marriott Marquis and celebrate the upcoming weekend. Good times are about to begin.
One of my favorite parts of Dragon*Con is hanging out in front of the Marriott Marquis and watch the endless parade of costumed attendees flow back and forth. I get some good pictures that way, and many people recognized the character my costume is based on, Snake Plissken.
It's not Dragon*Con unless Snake Plissken has a cold beer, a good cigar, and a bad attitude.
Below: this woman is doing a Starbuck costume, a character from the TV series Battlestar Galactica. Her resemblance to the actress is uncanny; she even acts like Starbuck. Below right is another character from Battlestar, a female Cylon, (although this is a man wearing the costume).
Above: Compare the actual Starbuck, from a still from the TV series on the left, to the woman on the right. Practically an identical twin. Bravo!
Below left: Another Snake Plissken; there were three Snake Plisskens including myself at Dragon*Con this year
Below left: the evil; Kirk costume from the Star Trek episode Mirror, Mirror, nicely done.
Below right: Bernie, from the movie Weekend At Bernie's, about a dead man two guys try to conceal. Looks like Bernie has been dumped by the door to the Marriott
Below right: this Admiral Akbar Star Wars costume is phenomenal. The eyes even blink! Very very impressive!
On the open air courtyard of the Hilton, overlooking Atlanta, costume groups gather for a group picture and to take pictures of each other's costumes. It's a good spot for photographers to set up some lighting equipment and have more space to get good pictures. This is where Snake Plissken had his rematch with Batman.
Here;s a short video of the activity:
Snake Vs. Batman
I met Batman last year when Iws asked to do a photoshoot by Deandre Bonds, who is a photographer who had some lighting equipment (see the pictures HERE). This year, it was time for a re-match, with Snake Plisken fighting the Dark Knight. Zoltan Hawes and I have become friends since our first meeting, and we will meet again next year
Every night the crowds gather in and around the Marriott Marquis to mingle, take pictures of the fantastic costumes and be seen. This is one of the biggest draws of Dragon*Con, seeing what costumes people have created. Every year there is something new, unusual or expected. This video gives you an idea of how crowded it can get.
Below: Two lovely ladies doing a Merida costume from the Pixar movie Brave. Disney incurred the wrath of its customers by unnecessarily sexing up what was, in the movie, a strong, independent and uplifting role model for girls. When Disney began marketing the character, they gave her a bigger bust, a narrower waist and no bow and arrow. Disney had a golden opportunity to provide a good role model for girls and they blew it.
Nice job, Disney.
Above and left: This fantastic robot costume was the highlight of Friday night's activities as people formed a circle to admire the skill, craftsmanship and dedication that went into making this fantastic costume.
Costuming is truly an art form, and some people spend many hours building their costumes. In this case the effort clearly pays off. This is one of the coolest costumes I saw at Dragon*Con this year.
Below: A short video clip of this awesome work of art
Here's another video of the festivities on the main floor of the Marriott Marquis. It's party time, Dragon*Con style!
This costume consists of rubber nipples.
Like, lots of rubber nipples.
You never know what you will see at Dragon*Con. That's part of the appeal.
Below: a close-up of the costume. It looks like a lot of time (and rubber nipples) was spent making it.
A Raiders Of The Lost Ark group who created an Ark of The Covenant out of beer cans. Beer cans! How cool is that??
The ingenuity of costumers who come to Dragon*Con never ceases to amaze me.
Below: These Predator cosplayers spotted me and immediately recognized the character. The Arnold Schwarzenegger cosplayer and I got into an arm wrestling match shouting lines from the movie at each other. Good times, man, good times.
Below: costuming is for the old and young alike.
Captain Morgan, but without the keg of rum. He told me he has one; he has to attach a strap to it so he can carry it around with him at cons. Pretty impressive likeness.
Below: Velma from Scooby Doo. I saw a few Velmas this year
I have no idea if this person is a white supremacist or not; he has black angel wings on his back, so he is making some kind of statement.
Well, costuming is an art form, and he is entitled to wear this costume if he chooses.
Below: a great costume from the movie Kill Bill
Left: Crowded - no, jam packed - elevators are part of the Dragon*Con experience.
This is a picture of the ceiling mirror of one elevator.
I rarely wait in long lines for discussion panels at Dragon*Con; some lines wrap around the building for high-profile panel guests such as the Mythbusters hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. However, having a discussion panel with both Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner was just too tempting to pass up, so I spent a couple of hours waiting for a good seat (not bad by Dragon*Con standards actually).
The panel lasted an hour, a ridiculously short time considering how much these two actors could have talked about the immense cultural impact of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. It was well worth the time nonetheless. I didn't record the entire panel; here is a good response from Lee Majors about his acting career:
