During those days at the end of winter break, the temperature was only 8 to 9 degrees Celsius, and it was constantly raining and windy, making people shiver with cold. To shoot this set of Madoka Kaname cosplay, I truly acted as an out-of-season warrior. The environment on the shooting day was exceptionally harsh; the wind was so strong that umbrellas couldn't even be held steady, and rain streaks drifted everywhere. However, not wanting to give up the desired rainy night photography atmosphere, I could only grit my teeth and persist.
This time I am cosplaying Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, in her school uniform version. Because the weather was so cold, both the wig and clothes were blown somewhat messy by the wind, but it happened to give me a sense of fragility moving forward through wind and rain. My shoes stepped on the wet floor tiles, and the splashing water flowed down my ankles; that freezing sensation was truly intense. The white over-the-knee Stockings and leather shoes were almost completely soaked, sticking uncomfortably to my legs, but for the sake of the visual effect, I could only try my best to adjust my state.
To fit the style I wanted, photographer Scophen also endured the rain with me. We chose an underground passage and an outdoor pedestrian bridge as the main scenes. The most representative rainy night streetlamp photo in Picture 4 was actually shot using the high-brightness pink streetlamp above and the reflection of accumulated water on the ground. To make the character stand out in the dark night without large-area fill lighting, we tried many angles. I stood under the streetlamp with my hands clasped in front of my chest, trying my best to experience Madoka Kaname's mindset of still wanting to find hope amidst despair. The feeling of shivering from cold while having to control facial expressions and body movements truly tests a coser's endurance.
Pictures 1 and 3 were shot inside the passage, utilizing the top square lighting and the distant pink glow to shape the atmosphere. The back view of walking forward in Picture 3 was actually captured when I was freezing so much that I couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to quickly walk to the end of the stairs to take shelter from the wind, resulting in an unexpectedly story-rich feel. The silhouette effect in Picture 2 also utilized the contrast of light and shade inside and outside the passage.
Because time was relatively tight, I originally planned to gather nine pictures, but ended up not shooting many in the end. Some post-production inspiration conceived beforehand didn't have time to be fully realized in the image, and I always felt that I couldn't push the rainy night loneliness I most wanted to express in my heart to the ultimate limit. However, this attempt in the low-temperature rainy night truly brought me one step closer to the style I wanted. Doing cosplay is not just posing in a studio; this experience of feeling the world where the character lives in a real environment is very special. This is a set of photos I really like, and coming across them while organizing my photo album today, I felt they should still be recorded.