I present you: Tidus of Final Fantasy X - open ocean underwater shots
This was the most extreme cosplay experience of my life. Here's the story: I had the chance to dive and shoot in cosplay in a nearly untouched coral reef area in the indian ocean. This was really a once in a lifetime experience. We were sharing the area with thousands of colorful fish. Everything was so bright and alife! It's a pity that the saltwater obscurs the colors in unterwater photos so much, but you can still see what a great surrounding this was. The fish were very curious and always surrounded me. Maybe because of my colorful appearance.
Taking photos underwater is difficult. You always have to fight updrift and water resistance. Up to this moment I had just been taking underwater cosplay photos in a pool - this was a whole new level. - first because harming the corals had to be prevented at any cost. That's why I did not wear Tidus' boots (although I had taken them along with me around half the globe). - second because I could not stand between dives. - third because it was the ocean. The are sudden currents and I did not see more than the blurred schemes of where I was underwater. - fourth because salt water dissolves paints and glues. I lost some glued parts of the armour during the shooting (no reef was harmed, I collected all disjointed parts) and had to improvise. In this picture you can see that my lower arm armor was already gone. - fifth because due to the moving ocean and the updrift, neither photographer nor model are ever in a steady position. Plus, adjusting the camera focus or seeing what exactly you're photographing is not possible underwater. That means that every shot is a lucky shot and we had to try for hours. - sixth because it is dangerous. There were a lot of stonefish and lionfish, one of the most poisonous species, and since I did not see where I was swimming, we had to make sure everytime before diving that there were none near me. We didn't succeed in all cases, as you can see above.
Still we managed to pull off something pretty spectacular. This must be the first time a cosplayer has ever done this. I hope you enjoy!
--- Btw.: This is my first cosplay shooting without any make-up as well. It would rub off and harm the corals. Plus it could run into my eyes when swimming up for air. So this is just me this time
Gleaming in the darksea I'm as light as air Floating there breathlessly When the dream dissolves I open up my eyes I realize that Everything is shoreless sea Weightlessness is passing over me
Everthing is waves and stars The universe is resting in my arms
@commentators---taking cosplay to another level? ya right. more like inspire people to be idiots by risking their lives for photos. ya i don't think anyone has ever been stupid enough to try this. o wait, maybe they did. Maybe we just don't hear about them because, well,....there dead.
@Nanjokoji risking your life for a beautiful picture is never a trade i would make. a picture made in a pool using computor generated special effects(or photoshop) is good enough as any picture no matter where you took it. Your lucky your alive to brag about it. The idea may seem cool to you or some people, but if something happened to you, many people in your life would be very sad. Just like yuna was when tidus disappeared.
anyways, it's not that i'm trying to hate one you, your cosplay is great. I've seen this picture all over the place and i've been trying to find out who it is because i could only find one of the picture on google. I was glad to finally see your beatufiul gallery when i found it. I just couldn't help reading the long description for this pic. Then I just couldn't stand the comments that glorified something that could of been really really serious.
Thanks, it's nice of you that you worry, but well... nothing really happened. I'm not lightheaded, but one or two risky things in time spice life. The water wasn't deep, there'd always be help. I wouldn't do that in open ocean.
Just love love loooveee it that you did this!! Like others have said, it really brings cosplay to a new level. Going to specific locations for cosplay photoshoots is kind of less important to people lately. But you are actually still going from special location to another perfect location for the characters you're cosplaying! And this is just... even one step further! It's amazing how good the cosplay looks even underwater. For this kind of shoot the cosplay also needs to be extra sturdy so.. it's not even that weird you lost a few parts. xD It's just great and impressive that in the end the whole cosplay just still looks great on these pictures! It's awesome! And ohhhh geeeez, lionfishhh! D':
Genial x)
@Nanjokoji
risking your life for a beautiful picture is never a trade i would make. a picture made in a pool using computor generated special effects(or photoshop) is good enough as any picture no matter where you took it. Your lucky your alive to brag about it. The idea may seem cool to you or some people, but if something happened to you, many people in your life would be very sad. Just like yuna was when tidus disappeared.
anyways, it's not that i'm trying to hate one you, your cosplay is great. I've seen this picture all over the place and i've been trying to find out who it is because i could only find one of the picture on google. I was glad to finally see your beatufiul gallery when i found it. I just couldn't help reading the long description for this pic. Then I just couldn't stand the comments that glorified something that could of been really really serious.
And ohhhh geeeez, lionfishhh! D':