Baltimore Comic-Con October 19, 2019

Running from Friday October the 18th through the 20th at the Baltimore Convention Center I went to Baltimore Comic-Con on Saturday. I had figured I would go to this event once and probably never again. I think now that I definitely will go again sometime in the future. This event is much larger and more interesting than I originally thought it might be.

My goal was to get photos of people with their costumes which I was definitely achieved. There were a great many costumes of a great variety. People had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into their costumes and it was a pleasure to observe and photograph the results.

When I first arrived photo ops were being put together outside the convention center which was being directed by a pair of gentlemen also in costume. They did a great job of directing the participants in various themed setups but didn’t do a great job of keeping out of the frame. A photographer also left an off camera flash in the framing area which I found an odd thing for a photographer to do.

Entering the venue itself there were friendly and helpful staff waiting to guide you. The main event was on the lower level.

There was a great many vendors present with a very large variety of items from artistic items from jewelry and representations of creatures to comic book sellers to creators and other artists involved in comics, videos, and other media. There is a LOT to see here. I did not take as many vendor area photos as I probably could have as I had the memory of vendors from the Maryland Renaissance Festival who do not allow photography in their area. I had the impression that most or all of the vendors at this even would have allowed and in some cases certainly encouraged photography.

The convention was buzzing alive with a large amount of creative energy of many types. This is definitely a place for everyone from those with creative energy looking for ways to express themselves to those creators who want to display their works. There is also a lot of opportunity for new creators to network and learn new things.

Although quite crowded and there were occasionally traffic jams as people crowded around individual tables I found taking photos of willing people in costumes to be a pleasure with other attendees respecting the temporary photography space and going around rather than through. This is a fantastic event to get some photography practice in.

I’d been wanting to attend this event for quite some time to get photos of people in costume. However, entrance to this event is not cheap at $70 for all three days, $25 for Friday, $35 for Saturday, and $30 for Sunday. Kids 10 and under are free with a paid adult admission. A $175 VIP ticket is also available.

Two things tipped the balance into convincing me to go this year. First, Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame has a YouTube channel called Tested. Many of the videos are of him and others creating costumes or accessories which then go on to Comic-Cons to see how long it takes for someone to figure out that it is him in the costume. He seems to do the Los Angeles and New York City ones so I may never get to see him in person at one of these events. Still, the creative energy is inspiring.

The other is a model I had worked with indicated an interest in going to one of these events. She was unfortunately unable to make it to this one.

Despite the price to get in this is definitely an event worth attending and I recommend watching for it next year for anyone who has an interest in creating or just enjoying the creations of others.

A side note: I took Baltimore’s Light Rail to and from the event both because of the high cost of parking nearby and a running event which closed down some streets. I am glad I did, especially when departing the event as the streets were packed with traffic.

To see all of my photos of this event please click here. You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.