This journal will cover my PERSONAL events for AC2013. If you have an interest in ANY of these events, PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE... Re-blog / re-post / tweet / Facebook / G+ / Tumblr the hell out of this journal. (Normally I do not ask for attention - but this is one of those times I would ask it.)

FURRY FEMME SHOOTContinuing the tradition of getting the female character suits away from the general populous, I will be bringing all my photography equipment again this year.

When: Friday July 5th from 9.30pm - ???

Where: Convention Center Third Floor - Opposite end of the hallway from "Spirit of Pittsburgh" Ballroom. (Same as previous years)

Who: All Female-Character Fursuits are welcome to participate in the shoot, along with their assistants / handlers, of course.

The shoot will begin with individual shoots for the early participants. Naturally pairings or triples are fine too. Once we have all the participants together I will get several group shots as well. Plan now for what you would like to wear for this event.

As always I will be burning CD's of the shoot for all the participants later that night. Your CD will be with me in the ZOO Saturday Night as I am recording my show. Just come up and I'll get you your copy. (The better shots will go online at my personal web-space after the shoot also.)

Additional photographers / videographers ARE WELCOME to take photos / video. HOWEVER, this is an unsanctioned event - meaning "My Shoot, My Rules" for everyone. Even though I do not charge in any way for this shoot, I still treat it with the highest of professionalism regarding the people and equipment involved. With that in mind, please be sure you understand the following conditions.

1) The point is to have FUN and to give the Furry Femmes a little something SPECIAL to remember the con with.

2) The safety and well being of the suiters is PARAMOUNT at all times. If a suiter needs a break or a drink or air and asks you to help with that, by being at the shoot you WILL help that person. (No one likes calling 911 to a FurCon.)

3) There will be some fairly expensive photography equipment in use. Be mindful of where those items are at all times. Gravity is a bad way to turn off a photo lamp.

4) A certain manner of decorum will be expected of everyone. Meaning, don't be a creep! If the ladies don't feel comfortable with a pose or for you specifically, for ANY reason, let it go and just enjoy taking other shots.

And, most importantly....

5) I am the primary photographer - so I will be making the most suggestions on poses or positioning equipment. As I get my shots, you will be welcome to get some as well yourselves. AND feel free to make suggestions as we go along. Who knows? I might like what you think of.

Some past photos have been:

FFS '11 thank You - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6169812/

FFS '10 Recap - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4171638/

FFS '10 Full Shoot - http://www.practicallyimpractical.com/AC2010FFS/

FFS '09 Collage - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2488167/

SEMI-PRIVATE PHOTO SHOOT

I was contacted by Bramble Bunny aka Pocy Fox aka :iconpocy: who is bringing a Porsche 911 convertible to A.C. due to this year's theme. For those that might be interested, I will make myself available (weather permitting) in the afternoons for G - Cheese-cake-naughty photos with the car for those that would like to do so. Please post below if you have even a passing interest in this possibility.

PRIVATE PHOTO SHOOTSSince I will be bringing ALL my photo equipment, I will be available for 'Personal' photo shoots Saturday and Sunday afternoons. As with my past offerings, the only people who will have copies of those shoots will be Myself (naturally) and You, burned onto CD Rom. I will not post / release ANY photos without specific word from the suiter(s) involved. EVER.

Trust is my most valuable trait - and I will NOT compromise it. Period.

BREAKFAST WITH FRED (ROGERS)

Some of us still fondly remember Fred "Mister" Rogers growing up. Well, it turns out there was a statue erected ( PICTURE HERE ) across the river from AnthroCon several years ago ( WALKING DIRECTIONS ) in his honour.

What I am proposing is getting a bunch of us together to either walk or take local mass transit to the site of Fred's statue for 8.30am on Saturday Morning. I'll bring single-serve cereal boxes, milk and spoons and we can start our day with the man who taught us that we're all special, just by being ourselves.

I've kicked around this idea for the last few years and I would REALLY love to make this a worthwhile tradition to celebrate a kind, gentle soul who many of us admired or were taught by. So please consider this one? I know this makes it a little early on Saturday, but at least it puts the event before the official start of events at 10am.

THE FELINE CONSPIRACY'S WED-NIGHT 80'S BASHAgain, this year, I will be recording my show from The Zoo on Saturday evening. This year the show will be running from 7.30pm and end at 11.30pm, local time. If you know someone that you'd like me to interview, please let them know I will be there. I'm, of course, hoping that :iconkagemushi: will be able to show up again.... maybe :iconJibba:... we'll see.

The show will be broadcast the following Wednesday night starting at 9.30pm Eastern time at http://LiveDJ.TFCsl.com .

And now, I've posted tips and tricks about attending AnthroCon before - so I'm going to do so again. Read these first and then come back here:

* How to survive a furry con - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/145324/

* Convention survival guide part II - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/151467/

Now, for MY two cents....

1) When you go to a con (doesn't matter which one), remember that the vendors and artists there are operating a business first and foremost. Yes, it's GREAT to be able to meet them (trust me, I was rather overwhelmed getting to meet a LOT of these folks first-hand), but they are there as business people first.

2) If they're working / selling things / talking with someone already about a commission or a product or speaking with ConStaff, give them time to do it. Be patient. They aren't going anywhere and they know you're there. If they try to interrupt someone they're already talking to to tend to you, tell them to finish up first.

Seriously... Good manners go a LONG way to making people WANT to give you an extra minute of their time after.

3) Once you have your chance with them, put out your hand and give a firm handshake and, before anything else, THANK them for sharing their time and talents with you.

Again, its not just good manners, but you have to remember - these people (artist and non-so-artistic alike) share a part of themselves, even if it's just comments and insights posted on a comment board.

They don't HAVE to... they CHOOSE to! That deserves some gratitude - a simple handshake and a 'Thank You' mean a hell of a lot to folks. Seriously.

4) If you DO buy something from an artist, consider paying an extra dollar; JUST a dollar. Why? Simple! Consider a waiter/waitress' tip - the 'double the tax' rule here for me puts a BASELINE tip at 16%. If you get a $10 sketch, $1 is a 10% tip.

Come on... you know what a waiter/waitress would say about you for leaving a freekin' 10% tip? And really, what's an extra dollar? You'll be spending a LOT of money at the con already just getting in and parking and gas and lodging and food and....

What does it all come down to? Its simple; Go the extra niceness mile, be considerate, use good manners, follow the 6-2-1 rule, don't over-share, don't troll and MOST of all.... DON'T BE, "THAT GUY/GAL"! If you have to preface something with a, "please don't take this the wrong way, but...." then don't say it at all.

And finally.... communication. I cannot stress this enough! Make sure you have all the contact information you need in case of an emergency or just to connect with someone you're hoping to see. To that end, for those travelling with smart devices with nearly unlimited data plans, I would suggest using "WAZE" ( http://www.waze.com/ ) for travel / traffic updates / police locations / sharing travel info with others via email/Facebook..... I started an "Anthrocon" group to help us all share data to and from A.C. freely.

So that's it. LONG journal, I know.. but good info. I can't WAIT to see you all SOON!