Cosplay trip - Kelowna

Nothing beats fresh air and doing super cinematic photoshoots in the mountains. I had such a great time in Banff last year that I figure I would pay Lichon Photography a visit in Kelowna this year. I've never been and I had a hankering to go in the mountains again.

If I had to summarize the trip I would say: Mountains, fresh air, road trip, girl's trip, and cosplay goals. I I had to summarize the shoots, I would simply say cold. I was freezing through all of them. Windy cold, wet cold, hail cold, snowy cold... You get it at this point.

​I somehow packed 5 costumes in my luggage so we did 6 shoots over the course of 7 days. It was intense but fun. Here's a quick recap.

Myra Canyon

We went to Myra canyon to check out some beautiful fall foliage. We had to take a logging road up there and it felt like me were off roading most of the way. I got to see some unique pine tree that turn neon in the fall. Lichon also taught me some stellar tree shaking skills to level up our practical effects in our photos. I also learned the art of dodging prickly bushes and carefully detaching fabric from said bushes. I wore my Fall Sawsbuck costume and it was the first time I wore it in a seasonal setting. I'm so happy that my headpiece survived the flight. I got some serious cape action going, and I curious to see how the photos turn out.

Big White

We got extremely lucky and it snowed the night we went to Big White. The next morning we got up before sunrise to shoot on a hiking trail on the mountain and boy was it worth it. Somehow this was one of the warmer shoots, because of the blankets and the warm costume. This was my first true winter shoot (not counting running outside for 4 minutes at Katsucon) and I felt like I punched another hole in my Canadian cosplayer card.
It's a cute little ski community and we took a nice hike on the side of the mountain.

Joe Rich

There was a fire in this forest a few weeks before which made for quite the ominous photoshoot location. There was a thick layer of soot on the trees and the ground was pure mud. My boots were covered and the dress got pretty messy. It didn't help that it recently rained and then it started hailing while we were shooting. It was so cold that I had to take a heating break because I couldn't feel my hands. Queen Beryl was a perfect fit for the setting and we took a few photos in this "summoning circle" we found. Did I mention that it was Friday the 13th? 

Penticton

Lichon is quite the tour guide. On the one day we didn't shoot, we visited: an abandonned train tunnel, a bird sanctuary, went to a wine tasting, and checked out some scenic views of Penticton.

Lake Chilliwack

We ventured further west to Hope, our home base for two nights. From there we went to shoot at Lake Chilliwack at sunset. This lake is magic. I can only imagine how nice it would be to swim there in the summer. It was hella cold that day and Lichon had me perched on a bunch of precarious rocks, luckily in flat shoes. She had to set up her step stool in the water so that I could get into this rock (photo above). The goal of bringing my Swanna costume was to get a "Swan Lake" photo. Mission accomplished.

Golden Ears Park

The next day we went to Golden Ears Park, which also has a beautiful beach. The beautiful forest is filled with ferns and moss. I have ever seen that much moss. Anyways, it rained in the rain forest but we shot anyway. We knew the weather wasn't in our favour that day, but screw it, I flew across the country for this. I was trekking in my heeless shoes for the most of this shoot. All those years of wearing high heels was paying off. Sadly, I forgot the green skirt for my Summer Sawsbuck costume (Screams internally!), but we still got some great photos.

Afterwards we drove back to Hope and we checked out Othello tunnels. Photos below.

Kelowna

We drove back to Kelowna and threw in a last minute shoot on a mountain top so that we could get photos of my Summer Sawsbuck costume in its entirety. It was so cold I forgot to take a photo for my social networks. I was also preoccupied with balancing in heeless shoe on a windy and rocky cliff's edge. Luckily the wind was blowing away from the ledge. 

It was a whirlwind week of nothing but good stuff. I find going on a cosplay trip/vacation is a good way for me to recharge and get inspired again. Don't let your dreams be dreams.