ArmorCon 2013

Thanks Fred. Being a hotel, the lighting wasn't great, and I prefer not to use flash, so resolution isn't the best. I also tend to compose and crop tightly to remove distracting background - focusing on the model itself, and even temporarily moved a few placards and judging sheets to get a "cleaner" shot. There was a guy near me at one point with a motor drive DSLR shooting maybe 20 frames a minute - I guess he was more interested in documentation than composition. The image size is substantially smaller than what I sent, even though Darren tells me it is the same.

I just realized the incongruity of "motor drive DSLR". However, it must have had heavy power to store large images so quickly and recycle the flash.

Thanks, Al. I found myself surprisingly drawn to some of the artillery. I was impressed with the Scammell R100 and later noticed an AA kit for it on the White Elephant table, but decided to pass. There's a certain bare ruggedness to the Scammell designs that is very appealing. Uncle Joe's Big Stick was scratchbuilt, which I found impressive, and made a point of speaking to the builder. There's something mesmerizing about the winter scene with only the barrel sticking out of the camo netting. I liked the halftrack field shop, but could do without the smoke effect. My personal favorite was the Unstoppable dio, and couldn't comprehend how it only got a bronze.

Charles-- superb photos!! Where in MA did this take place? Thanks DJ

Great pics! I had the pleasure of going along with my 2 kids and we had a great time. Just some superb models on display as well as awesome deals to be had with all the vendors. Thanks again to Matt Toms and all the club members who made it a great event, esp for the youngsters. My son and I now have a gigantic Atomic Annie to build for next years show thanks to the generosity of one of many great folks at the show.

Not Massachusetts, it was in Danbury, Connecticut. Al

Was this guy short? with a bag on his back? If so, that was ME. I was shooting quick and from the hip because I was in between judging sessions trying to get some shots for myself. I ended up doing like 5 or 6 sessions at the table. There were SOO MANY great models and dios and busts, its a wonder my head is still on! Armorcon staff do a great job of moving their stuff around and getting things done with a VERY busy staff. I personally enjoyed being a part of it, and I cant wait for next year!!

Brian: I recall your posts on the other thread about contests and judging. By your 5-6 stints, I presume you enjoyed judging at the Armorcon event? judging is great for your own instruction, isn't it? BTW: congrats to the NE guys. Sounds like another great show! See y'all in Fredericksburg next April, I hope!

I don't think it was you Brian. I think this was maybe around 1 PM on Saturday. I never looked directly at him, as I was mostly just trying to anticipate his movements and stay out of the way, but sensed that he was 6' or maybe more - but maybe it was just the big camera that I was aware of ;-) However, he was moving very quickly, so perhaps it was you. He would rapid-fire multiple shots of one model, without spending much time framing it. I've never shot at a show before (never been to a show before), but due to my own tastes and what I've seen of other show photos, decided that I wanted to spend some time determining what was the best angle for each model, and temporarily moving paper things out of the way if possible-necessary. I did some cropping and color/brightness correction on every shot later, and often had tough decisions about whether to take out a bright background or a projecting element of a model - I'd usually try several variations before deciding. I wish some of the shots were sharper or had greater depth of field, but feel satisfied that the majority of each photo is the model itself, and not distracting background. I did respect the models and never touched any, although regularly touch sculptures in art museums as I'm interested in the textures ;-) Since you're involved with the show, I have one suggestion, but there may be a reason they don't do this. Not even considering Beginner and Intermediate classes, it seemed there was a fair amount of open table space even at the end, but with all the models in a given class clustered together. If they were more spread out, it would make photography easier and allow more people to look at one/some of them simultaneously. I just saw the tee-shirt announcement, but had a rogue, camo design printed one-off before the show, along with some other tank tees.

You are right , I WISH I WAS 6 FEET ! LOL .... as for the judging I really did enjoy it, learned an incredible amount of things, and ate a little crow too... My posts about judges using lights and magnifiers came back and bit me sqarely in the butt my first day. A light was invaluable to find fine detail in places that dont have light. It also helped me to see detail that I initially though was mistakes. A decal that had been very masterfully applied appeared to be silvered to me, but with the light and glasses on, I could see it was just REALLY GOOD WORK! Same with another thing that APPEARED to be a silvered decal, but under light and glasses was an incredibly well painted detail. So, now that I have had a taste of the crow, and been bit by the judging dog, Ill be back next year, glasses and flashlight in hand!