I shot this one in my bedroom alone, I did the makeup myself, even put vaseline on my face to simulate sweat.
Phantom Limbs Kazuhira Miller Cosplay
Category: Costumes
Kazuhira Miller Cosplay
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Costume by me
Photography by Sreeraj Sreenivisan
Edits by me
Location: Fremantle Harbour and Maritime Museum
Nearly four months ago I was nearly killed in a hit-and-run, I have no memory of the incident, nor the week that followed. Since then I’ve had to deal with injuries I don’t remember acquiring, it doesn’t feel real. I have two skull fractures, I am deaf in my left ear (hopefully temporarily), I was in a neck brace because of my fractured vertebrae, but the most debilitating part was my broken right leg with severe lacerations along the tendons. I was robbed of my ability to walk for months. Thankfully I wasn’t in a wheelchair for too long, but whether or not I’ll ever be able to walk properly without needing the crutch is unknown at this point.
While I recovered from the worst of my injuries, I stayed with my family, I didn’t have much else to do but play whatever games I had downloaded on my laptop, and that just so happened to be the Phantom Pain. What I got was an intense exploration of pain, loss and grief, I was shown characters who seemed to understand what I was going through and gave voice to these new feelings I couldn’t articulate. The opening of the game alone was some kind of nightmarish re-enactment of my hospital confinement. But it was Kazuhira that became a kind of spirit guide for me, because of him I feel no shame in my current physical limitations, if I need this crutch forever, so be it, no matter what I’ve lost, a Diamond Dog gets up and keeps on fighting.
I still haven’t been able to return to work, my circadian rhythm is completely unpredictable, so while I continue to recover, and when I’m not sleeping, or playing Metal Gear, I find myself inspired to make costumes again. This costume was entirely sourced in op shops, the only sewing I did was attaching the Diamond Dogs patch to the beret, and tailoring the trousers. I’m not so much interested in making everything from scratch and being 100% accurate to the source material. It’s more fun for me to source pieces, the thrill of the hunt, finding garments that evoke the character, and I just so happened to get lucky. I wasn’t going to make this a girly rule 63, that would be tacky, I wasn’t going to make this crossplay and try to pass myself off as male, that would be inauthentic. I just adapted Kaz’s costume for myself, with all the practicality and dignity his costume entails.
Another stroke of luck was the shoot, it had rained mere hours before we shot, but it was mostly clear skies when we needed it. It was cold, perfect for all the layers I had to wear, and just the right amount of wind to get us a few dramatic flowing trenchcoat shots. There also happened to be a real naval ship in the harbour too, although we couldn’t get too close.
It felt good to return to modelling, and I hope I can bring you more Metal Gear shoots soon.
Under the Skin
Photography by Luke Milton
Makeup by Kat Winslade
This was a shoot that initially arose from the fact that as my hair has been growing out, I noticed a passing resemblance to Scarlett Johansson’s alien femme fatale in Under the Skin. But then I watched the film again and found myself thinking about it a lot from a new perspective. The film came out in 2013, I had been a totally different person then, I was still a kid with no worldly experience. In the intervening years I had transitioned to male and then one year ago, I detransitioned back to living as a woman. Under the Skin muses on a lot of ideas, and to me now, I see it as reflective of my exploration of gender, and body, and identity. I accept my body completely for once in my life, but how is it perceived by others? Am I the same person I used to be? Am I different? Or am I just treated differently based on the way I look?
Arkham City Bane Cosplay- One Day Build
This was a heap of fun to put together, I was on @thebatminute and one of the hosts, Niall asked if I could make a Bane costume for the promo photo. I couldn’t resist the challenge, in less than a week (and with less than $10) I had to throw this all together and get photos. Couldn’t have done it without the help of Alex for lending me parts of the costume, and helping me to build the rest (more details on the build in another post). And thanks to @sabkitten for shooting this in my apartment today with the most cobbled together lighting setup ever.
Bane is a character that’s always meant a lot to me, but I always dismissed the possibility of cosplaying as him, I’m just a tiny little girl, that would be ridiculous. But I’m beefier now than I used to be. I’m really happy with how these photos came out, I didn’t want to go for a cutesy or sexy version, I just wanted to be Bane, roided out, balls to the wall insane. He’ll blow up your plane. He’s coming for Bruce Wayne.
Cosplay Couture- Herbie the Lovebug
Another entry in my Hollywood cars fashion designs (see KITT and KARR, and Christine), I envisioned Herbie as youthful and cheeky, I took elements from 1960’s fashion as well as race car driver uniforms and accessories.
Charlie Watson and Bumblebee (Camaro)
Charlie and Bumblebee in his Camaro alt-mode.
Photography by Simon Haynes
Camaro provided by Clevo Rulz
After planning and rescheduling around rain and lockdowns for months, I’m so happy to have finally gotten to do this shoot. Cars are my life right now, so I was eager to model with them. It was an interesting challenge, I wanted to explore a level of intimacy without the usual overt sexuality of car photoshoots. I adore the movie Bumblebee, so when I saw a yellow Camaro at a cars and coffee meetup, I was inspired. And not only did I find a yellow Camaro but a Beetle too! I had never sat in one before but I could instantly see their appeal, there’s a charm in their curvy simplicity.
Thanks again to everyone who brought this photoshoot to life, you were all so generous.
Charlie Watson and Bumblebee (VW)
Charlie and Bumblebee in his VW Beetle alt-mode.
Photography by Simon Haynes
VW Beetle provided by Grace Palmateer-McLaughlin.
After planning and rescheduling around rain and lockdowns for months, I’m so happy to have finally gotten to do this shoot. Cars are my life right now, so I was eager to model with them. It was an interesting challenge, I wanted to explore a level of intimacy without the usual overt sexuality of car photoshoots. I adore the movie Bumblebee, so when I saw a yellow Camaro at a cars and coffee meetup, I was inspired. And not only did I find a yellow Camaro but a Beetle too! I had never sat in one before but I could instantly see their appeal, there’s a charm in their curvy simplicity.
Thanks again to everyone who brought this photoshoot to life, you were all so generous.
Kira Nerys Deep Space Nine Cosplay
Photographer: Simon Haynes
Makeup: Kat Winslade
It’s been a long time, but I have returned to cosplay with a character and costume I never expected to like as much as I do. I guess because I was detransitioning while watching DS9, I gravitated towards Kira as she is such a great female character who shows just how nuanced and multi-faceted a woman can be. Also, man, I loved making those sleeves, so much fun to figure out! The costume was made for less than $100, it’s ribbed stretch fabric and a couch cover, with vinyl for the belt. I found the most perfect boots at an op shop. It came together pretty quickly, I’m finding it easier to sew lately as I seem to be getting over CFS. Hopefully that continues and I can do more cosplay, I feel inspired now.
Probably one of the most challenging shoots, not only was it at night, but we were at a shopping centre and we were unfortunate to be harassed by a security guard who made us delete the photos. Thankfully Simon was able to recover them! I think we got some great shots despite all of that.
Cosplay Couture- KITT vs KARR
Fashion designs inspired by Knight Rider.
Cosplay Couture- Christine
A fashion design inspired by Stephen King’s Christine.
Travian Designs 