Supanova 2009 Pop Culture Expo

Last weekend was the Supanova Pop Culture Expo for 2009 in Melbourne. This is a travelling cultural expo similar to Manifest, but run by a professional organisation and with a broader focus on pop culture, including science fiction, fantasy, comics and more. Supanova differs from Manifest in a number of ways , including the focus on international guests, speaking panels and perhaps a more commercial atmosphere, but with fewer events, cultural attractions and less of an emphasis on cosplay (making and wearing costumes of your favourite fictional characters). Cosplay, however, does seem to be becoming a more significant part of the expo, and it was the major event this year. Perhaps it is to be expected that the majority of cosplayers were dressed in anime costumes, but it was a refreshing change, for me, to see characters from many other genres represented.

Photographing the cosplay is the main focus of conventions, and as such most of my time at Supanova was spent waiting for the cosplay comp, reserving my seat, or shooting the cosplay competition. I had a brief look around the traders hall, and around the venue, but spent most of my time in the main hall. One point of import is that Manifest will be moving to the showgrounds as well for its tenth year, so I was interested to scout out the venue as well.

Below are a selection of my favourite photos from the event, specifically of cosplayers in the comp and elsewhere. In the past, readers have expressed an interest in seeing what the costumes are based on, so I have included below each photo, where applicable, an image of the character being cosplayed. I hope this will deepen your appreciation for the hard work and dedication that these wonderfully talented people put into their costumes! At the bottom of this post you will find a couple of videos and a link to my full gallery of more than 270 photographs from the event. I hope you enjoy them!

Videos From Supanova

• Madman Australian Cosplay – Melb Finalists
• Siera Wins Madman Cosplay Comp, Melbourne Semifinal

See the Full Gallery