“I believe a photograph is worth a thousand words. What makes it more worth is when you have captured an amazing photo! A cosplayer’s existence is exposed thanks to their respective photographers.. or those who have exposed them. That’s why for my next feature, it won’t only be a cosplayer.. but the person behind the camera as well.” - katz

Feature n#6: Jonathan de Belen aka.. z3LL!

K- Konnichiwa! I finally have you in my grasps nyaha! *ahem* I mean, thank you so much for squeezing some time for me.

JDB- Hello katz! Thanks din! weeeeeeeee it’s been a while!

K- Now let us start from the beginning, shall we? Your interest in photography in general, when did it start?

JDB- Sure sure! Yes I really don’t know when, but I like taking photos using my camera phone and digicam back then. Then i bought my dslr on May 2008, i named it z0mg hehehe!

K- O.o really? That’s so cute! I can picture you saying, “Where’s z0mg?” haha! And how did you get involved with Cosplay Photography then?

JDB- I’ve been attending cosplay conventions with my friends since 2007, some of my friends cosplay too ^^ And it’s always nice to see your fave animes/game characters/etc brought to life. Mangaholix 2007 was my first con, while Mangaholix 2008 is the first con with z0mg haha!

And my first cosplay photoshoot was with.. guess who?? Hard Gay!! FOOOOOO!!

K- Say say! Hard gay rocks!! *headbang* Photographer MUST-HAVES, what do you think one should be equipped with?

JDB- 1) Camera! of course u need one, doesn’t need to be that high end (expensive).. as long as u can take photos and capture moments. ^^ 2) An eye for detail.. that can look for best angles and awesome bg that fits ur subject ofcourse

K- Do you prefer working solo or do you participate in groups?

JDB- there are times i want to work alone.. but there are more times I want to work with friends hehe it’s more fun of course! Share tips and tricks.

K- Indeed it is! You get to learn stuff from them too. What can you say is your specialty? If none, what do you love most about taking pictures?

JDB- I guess chibi shots are one of my specialties XD katz I didn’t get to do you in chibi-shot?^

*nyuuu not yet!

JDB- It’s time! LOL

K- Wahhhh hehe alright, next time we meet! *glomp* Pros and Cons of Photography?

JDB- Hmmm, I can’t really answer that since I treat it more like a hobby than a business. But I guess, for Pros: get to meet new people, capture moments, document things (via photos), learn new things. Cons: I don’t always get group shots!!!!

K- You have tried to cosplay right? Who was your first character? And how did it feel?

JDB- Yep, it’s Kondo Isao from Gintama. Hmmm it was awesome! Cosplaying a character from Gintama with Yuuchi and Romeo wuhoo! We also had a photo with Jesuke who is also cosplaying a Ginatama character that day! /fanboys XDD

Kondo Isao (with Jesuke) – Gintama series

K- Ho ho ho! Do you think you’ll be cosplaying again anytime soon? >:3

JDB- As of now, I’m planning to repeat my cosplay and improve it more.. and hopefully we can have a decent photoshoot with a bunch of shinsengumi characters and other gintama characters ^^

K- Good for you, I shall look forward to that! Now, pictures aside, what other things you would like to do for yourself off the camera?

JDB- I would like to travel more! i really wanna visit other places like davao, cebu, palawan and also other countries like singapore, thailand, japan XD

K- Based on your experience, how’s about a message to aspiring photographers out there?

JDB- Practice, practice, practice XDDTry experimenting so u can understand your camera more ^^

Mr. De Belen is already highly known as one of Philippines’ famous Cosplay Photographer by many. I met him during a Final fantasy photoshoot back in 2009 and ever since, he was loyal to me in this project from day 1.

Random Final Fantasy characters – with me as Selphie Tilmitt

I can’t thank him enough for letting me feature him. You the man z3LL~ thanks again!! WHERE TO FIND HIM: Facebook page, DeviantArt, Blogspot

Till next feature~! X3