Every year The Mixup is blessed with amazing weather. This is both a blessing and a curse, as a European country with an event that is not held in a convention hall or hotel ballroom it means that there is no air conditioning. The heat rose to 31c (roughly 90f) over the weekend and I definitely felt it. Of course with prior history and foresight to keep an eye on the weather before I travelled, I made sure to pack shorts and light tank tops (black of couse). Still, running around 2 floors of Place de la Bourse (the chamber of commerce in Lyon) meant I worked up a sweat no matter what clothes I wore. Fighting the heat, the number of bodies in the venue and powered on electronics with no fans or direct cooling was certainly a challenge. And on day 1 I managed to clock over 20k steps just trying to capture the beauty of the venue
The Mixup now in it's 10th year of running managed to secure such a beautiful venue it's certainly topped the list for a non corporate event (Red Bull Kumite/Knock Out, EVO series, Capcom Cup Finals for example). Whilst I was smart enough to bring appropriate clothing it makes me think how acceptable it is to wear stage blacks but a vest instead of a tee. The first thought would be that this situation wouldn't happen if the Ladose crew managed to have a location more akin to your usual fighting game event space. Just food for thought as I keep chasing to escape the professional amateur photographer life (whenever someone asks me, I joke that I am a professionally amateur photographer, not a professional photographer).
This year the team expanded once again which was much needed due to the new venue, 4 stages across 2 floors and a number of community side games (the arcade room for old man games certainly gets the spotlight). You can find the team's work posted on The Mixup's socials here.
One thing that makes me love working in a creative team is the different styles everyone brings. Though another thought crossed my mind and this is probably due to corporate life and my personal sense of responsibility coming into play. With the work of covering stages shared out, there should be a good balance of work, breaks and coverage of of the event. As a photographer, we as individuals always want to get *the* shot, one that defines the event (ego stroking is a powerful thing). However I feel like it should be balanced alongside your assigned tasks. If you're asked to cover something else and grab a specific photo by the event, that should be your priority as it's asked by the event/employer. Whilst you may have delays in getting there, players especially in fighting game events like The Mixup may be entered in multiple tournaments and cannot hang around, hence there should be some urgency in getting what is asked. Delays can and often snowball, players wait, games don't start, timelines get stretched, scheduled posts don't come out on time etc. Again this may be due to my personal sense of responsibility but often I feel the bigger picture gets forgotten, especially when you lose the sense of being employed versus doing it for love of the game.
As my self reflection continues alongside my attendance at these events, it makes me wonder about my shooting style whether if I should make changes or if it's Gear Acquisition Syndrome, as well as finding the balance of ego and responsibility to being a professional. I might find more answers as I continue to do these write ups. You can check my photos at the link below and if you fancy buying me a drink, you can grab me a Ko-Fi.
LINK TO ALBUM
