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!!