Perth Supanova 2013 Preview: The Fruitless Pursuits Stall!

Perth’s biggest pop culture convention, Supanova, is this weekend and Fruitless Pursuits will be there in force! For the first time we will be there with our very own stall and we will have lots of awesome stuff for sale. Plus we’ll be taking plenty of photos of cosplay and events to feature on our site!

You can come and find us at Stall L in Artist’s Alley, but if you’re having trouble finding us, look out for our giant poster showing off our brand new chibi caricatures, created by amazing artist and friend, Linda Foote...

It shows off all six of the Perth team who will be at the stall or roaming the floor, so keep an eye out for us. You’ll see these images (plus images of our American Team) popping up more often on the site moving forward, and hopefully they will assist in you getting to know us.

But in the meantime, check out the actual stuff we have on offer - including original playing cards, books, comics and badges... after the jump!

Gallery: Free Comic Book Day 2013 at Quality Comics!

Holy crap, you guys, it's Free Comic Book Day 2013 and, as promised, a lot of things are going on. Perth, Western Australia may be the most isolated capital city in the world, but that doesn't mean that Batman won't show up if he gets the call. Yes. We are now friends with Batman.

(You may also recognise Black Widow as our friend Courtney who joined me recently on The Book Was Better podcast). And there were plenty of other characters out in force to celebrate with our other friends at Quality Comics. Short version: Everyone is our friend.

If you'd like to see a lot more pictures of the awesomeness celebrating sequential art today then please join me... after the jump!

Oz Comic-Con 2013 Perth: Cosplay Parade & Competition!

We're coming to the end of our coverage of Oz Comic-Con 2013 in Perth, and it's finally time to look at the wonderful cosplay from the weekend. I love seeing what people come up with for their convention outfits, and the standard at OCC (as with any Con, I suspect) ranged from hilarious to jaw-dropping. We saw a lot of brilliant costumes out on the showroom floor, but for the purposes of this post we're going to be checking out the Cosplay Parade on the Saturday, and the Cosplay Competition on Sunday, where the cream of the crop were pitted against each other for ULTIMATE COSPLAY GLORY. Join us below the cut for a few of our favourites, and the eventual victors.

My Zombie Peach Photo Shoot!

I recently shared my Black Widow photo shoot, so I figured it might be apropos to also share my latest foray into photographing cosplay which took place this past weekend. I got to shoot a Zombie Princess Peach with model Cherry Badgirl, who was the genius behind the concept, the make-up and the styling while I stood around like an idiot and pressed the shutter button.

This is apparently what happens if you don't rescue her in time...

More rapidly decomposing Peach after the jump!

My Black Widow Photo Shoot!

Something I don't share on here nearly enough is my photography. It's a hobby that has begun to consume me lately, having completed around 75 shoots already this year, including shooting 54 models for a soon-to-be released deck of playing cards (but more on that later). But one of my biggest loves is shooting with a pop culture theme, and yesterday I got to partake in a shoot that I thought was an apt match to share on this site.

This year I've posted a lot about The Avenger's Black Widow, having amassed my own tiny collection of Scarjo inspired merchandise. Well, yesterday I had Black Widow in my house! It was like being an unknowing recipient of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But with out all the sadness and dying and stuff.

The following photographs feature model Petra Dish, with make up by Kimberley Williams, and were taken by me. Click them to embiggen them.

And join me after the jump for more!

Kickstart the Week: Snapstagram - Just Prints

If you're in love with Instagram as much as I am, this week's featured Kickstarter project should make you very happy. I've always said that Instagram is my second favorite social network (behind Twitter), but it may be creeping towards #1. The instant access to a mini-photoshop style effects toolbar is awesome, and then sharing the photos with friends/followers takes it to that social network level of interaction and excitement.

Snapstagram is a high quality printing service for your Instagram photos. It's already doubled it's $3000 funding goal, but there are still benefits to pledging. All backers will get rolls of their images delivered to them once the service goes live, but backers at the $25 level and up get early beta access to the site and services.



http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snapstagram/snapstagram-just-prints

And while we're on the subject, I'd like to announce that we've setup a Fruitless Pursuits Instagram account! Our username is fruitlesspursuits and you'll find images from all of the topics we cover here on the site, as well as photos from events that we cover, and much more. It's gonna be lots of fun.

My Playing Card Project 2012: Update 2!

Last week I revealed my intent to shoot 54 models with 54 weeks (hopefully it's actually going to take a fraction of that time) and produce some decks of genuine casino-quality playing cards! You can see the first two images I shot for the set right here.

Since then, the shoots have been pretty regular. Have shot six more, and have six scheduled for the end of this week. Here's the next few preview images - bearing in mind that they are all still subject to change before the final product.

Models are Hexx (left) and Shay (right). Shay's makeup by LMP Makeup. 

Join me after the jump to see the other four and find out how you can eventually be involved!

My Playing Card Project 2012.

If you don't know, I dabble in photography and have decided to create a giant but wonderful headache for myself and attempt to photograph 54 different models (2 jokers) within 54 weeks and produce a set of actual casino-quality (probably) playing cards. I had the idea Monday and now, I've shot two in the last two days with plenty more on the way. Everything is subject to change, but here's a taste of what I've got so far (click to embiggen).

Models are Lottie Last Chance (left) and Tegan (right). Only 52 to go! Expect updates sporadically...

Rocktober Gallery Day #31

Gyroscope, Challenge Stadium, 2009

Rocktober Gallery Day #30

Lupe Fiasco, Metro City, 2010

Rocktober Gallery Day #29

Bliss n Eso, Amplifier, 2008

Rocktober Gallery Day #28

Red Jezebel, Rosemount, 2007

Rocktober Gallery Day #27

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Southbound, 2008

Rocktober Gallery Day #26

The Hot Lies, Amplifier, 2007

Rocktober Gallery Day #25

Fall Out Boy, Challenge Stadium, 2008

My New Model Shoot! Burlesque Wonder Woman!

I've done a second photoshoot with wonderful burlesque performer Duchess Silk (who recently modelled for me as Doctor Who). This time it's a homage to Golden Age Wonder Woman comics where, despite being strong enough to lift a tank, she spent a suspicious amount of time tied-up by creepy mortal men. The Duchess bravely took on the role of Amazonian Princess Diana, and I played the creepy mortal. I even had to learn how to hog-tie on the Internet, and trust me, that's not a Google search you want to do.

See more at my photography site. (Be warned that the site is NSFW, but this particular set is not. Well... depending on your work I guess?). Oh, and this counts as part of Batman Week because Batman is Wonder Woman's friend. And he helped her when she turned into a pig. Seriously. Go watch that episode.

Rocktober Gallery Day #24

Buried In Verona, Amplifier, 2011

Rocktober Gallery Day #23

The Whip, The Bakery, 2008

Rocktober Gallery Day #22

Cut Off Your Hands, Amplifier, 2007

Rocktober Gallery Day #21

Nathan Gaunt, Left Bank, 2005