ElfQuest Camping Trip!

So this weekend I hosted my first ever cosplay camping trip! It sounds kind of strange, taking costumes on a camping trip, but it was really awesome! Let me explain...


So I live in the middle of nowhere. Like, really. I'm way out here in the boon-toolies. There are pros and cons to living out here, and one really great pro is that it's fucking BEAUTIFUL up here! Tons of national forest to frolic in. And I was thinking to myself, "Boy, wouldn't it be nice if I could get my cosplay friends up here for a photo shoot some time." So I decided to host a themed camping trip at my house for all my cosplay buddies to attend. Now, the only reason I call it a camping trip is simply because I can't fit everyone in my house. But, lucky for me, I have tons of yard for people to camp out in! So, it wasn't like we were out in the woods without any amenities. We had electricity and showers (no flushing toilet, but that's another story). Really, people just slept in tents. So it was more like back yard camping. Haha.

Anywho, I decided the theme would be ELFQUEST! Because, if you couldn't tell by now, I FREAKING LOVE ELFQUEST! What is EQ you say? Why, only the most coolest, super-duperest elf comic ever! It was started in the late 70's by Wendy and Richard Pini and has been going for the last 35 years. If you haven't heard of it or read it, I suggest going to their website and reading the ENTIRE series for FREE! Start with "The Original Quest" (21 issues. Don't start with the "Prologue", that's for the new "Final Quest.")
(Wow, there was a lot of capslock in there. Can you tell like EQ just a little?)

Anyway! I hired my brother in law, Caleb Wells, to come take our photos. He's a super amazing photographer. He mostly does weddings, so this was a whole new thing for him. But he seemed to have fun and started to get the hang of it as the day progressed.

My elves arrived on Friday, we did photos most of the day Saturday, and they left Sunday. We got up really early Saturday so we could get the beautiful sunrise light. That was a little difficult, as most of us didn't go to bed until after midnight and the sun rises at about 5am this time of year. So we had to wake up at 3:30am to be able to get ready and drive out there in time for the beautiful light. But, knowing from experience, it's totally worth the early wake up call! Nothing can compare to "magic hour."

We started out with about 15 elves that were going to come, but only 7 were able to attend. Which.... I think was actually better. It would have been a lot harder to organize 15 people rather than 7. And we would have been out in the woods all day shooting photos.

So the rest of this post will be some behind the scenes photos. I haven't gotten any of the professional photos yet, as he hasn't had time to edit them. I will probably post those next Monday!

The Elf Village

An impromptu weapons history lesson taught by my hubby. 

Into the woods! Wait... cows? Yes, their were some free range cows that came to visit us! They were very curious as to why these evles had invaded their forest. XD

Redlance enjoying the sun!

Looking cool.

Trying to get that perfect shot!

My hubby was the lighting assistant. It made a lot of difference!

Dewshine waiting for her close up.

Lunch time!!

Arrr!

Mmmm, jerky!

Chillin',

Back to work

We're just a bunch of elves....

Just elfin' around!

Dewshine is perching.

Kahvi looks a little sleepy in this one.

So it's back to the house for a much needed nap!!

Zzzzzz

Time to relax

And recovered...

And now that we've relaxed....

It's time for FIRE!!!

Everyone gather around the fire!

Mesmerizing fire!

Big fire!!

Kahvi is excited about the fire!

And later, with a much smaller fire, there were s'mores!!

Cuddling by the fire.

And much discussion about Skyrim.

Flaming 'mallows!

Overall it was a really great time! I'm so glad my friends were able to come up and I even got to make some new friends! Because I live so far away, I always have to go see them, so it was nice for them to come see me!

I'm really hoping that this will be a yearly event with a new theme every time! I have a few ideas. There was much talk about next year being Skyrim themed! Because the country around here is just perfect for it! So I really want that to work out. My hubby and I are already making plans for my armor! I hope it will be epic.

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Next week I will post the professional photos. I should have them by then. So you'll have to put up with a little bit more ElfQuest. And then I'll put it away for a while. And maybe do an interview! We shall see....

Until next week!

<3 Edward