Pumpkins In The Cemetery

Back in November, I successfully completed my second annual Pumpkin Dump. That is, instead of simply throwing all of my jack-o-lanterns away after Halloween, I decided to do something a bit more creative with them.

I found a unique, visible location in my area to quickly and secretly set up all my jack-o-lanterns! My reasoning was twofold: first, it was a fun and innocent way to extend the Halloween season by a little bit and share it with everyone who discovered the set up, and two, after removing all wax and other contaminants, it provided a natural snack for the local deer, raccoon, chipmunk and squirrel population.

My second pumpkin dump was a great success, staying up at the front of a cemetery on a highly-traveled road for the better part of three weeks. Plenty of time to be seen by many, many people...

Fast forward to this week when I receive an email from a friend, showcasing his latest collection of photography. Amongst the collection of amazing rusty industrial photos and beautiful shots of local wildlife is a photo that caught me completely off-guard...

Photo courtesy of David Fitzgibbons.

Boom! There it was! A totally awesome photo of my last pumpkin dump! It was a bigger success than I had anticipated. I don't think he even knew the story behind this or who set it up (although he may have been able to guess)!

In my quick setup and getaway, I only snapped a couple of quick daytime photos before slipping away undetected. But he obviously had more time to capture the setup in a detailed way. The selective orange coloring only amplifies the utter coolness of this photo. It is, without a doubt, the best photo of my "work"...

I was so excited when I saw it, I immediately revealed the backstory and asked his permission to post it here, so thank you Dave! You have captured the eerie fun in a way that I couldn't, and provided a most unexpected surprise!

I see a freelance photography gig in your future, say next October? Amazing shot, sir!!

  

Last Night's Moon

So driving home from dinner last night, I noticed the moon. It was huge! Full with a creepy orange hue. I raced home to grab my camera, but the moon was hiding behind the neighborhood trees. So I jumped back in my car to find a great viewpoint when it hit me...

Of course! The cemetery down the street! Luckily, the main gate was still open, so I drove in and found an opening where the moon was glowing brightly. As the night went on, the moon continued to rise and lose its orange hue, replaced by a bright white. With the help of my car headlights, I was able to grab a few shots of the moon's glow and a few tombstones. Then I started to hear some noises off in the dark, got creeped out and got the hell out of there.

I'm planning on going back to that cemetery to explore all of the tombstones and get some reference photos for Highbury Cemetery. Only I'm going to do that during the day...

Okay group, I'm off to the Garage of Evil's Northern Ohio Haunters Make and Take where I'm going to build my first Flying Crank Ghost. I'll bring the trusty camera and document the entire process. I already have a slightly different look in mind for the final piece and I already know where he's going to be placed in the cemetery this year. Can't wait!

And don't forget! There's only 107 days until Halloween!!