The pumpkins you find on these pages were either done by Rich & Flo Newman
(aka TagYerit) or sent in by friends & contributors. There could easily be
20 pages by now, so give yourself plenty of time to explore the vast range of
wonderful creations assembled here! (Sorry - these photos from 1997, but the principle is the same.)
Do you want your photo to look like this?
OR THIS!
This is actually a simple trick that a professional photographer, would already understand. But for the rest of us, the concept is to think about your light source. What makes a jack-o-lantern glow so wonderfully is the candle inside the pumpkin. So turn OFF your flash. If you have an automatic camera, then you need to cover the flash when you snap. I just put my hand over it and as you can see, it's very effective.
This update from Oct. 2002. Now that I have a digital camera, I've been playing around with a slightly different approach. The pumpkins that I photographed this year, were lit with an extension light inside the pumpkin. A 23 watt compact fluorescent puts out the equivalent of a 90 watt incandescent, but without the heat. This allows me to take a picture without flash in a regularly lit room. the pumpkin's glow photographs just fine, but you can see the details of the outside of the pumpkin including the stem. And it doesn't cook the pumpkin.
Now, while on the subject of lighting. The cooler the temperature of the lighting source is, the longer the pumpkin will last. That means keep the wattage to the bare minimum. LED lights are the best, though most expensive. Compact fluorescent lights are common now. Either of these options will make your pumpkins easier to see and create a great display whether you place them on your front porch, near your garden shed or on a stone wall.
An occasional series: by Flo
And speaking of moons, here's a few pictures that've been going around via emails. Sorry to say, I don't know who the original artists are.
Homestar
- Patterns for all the homestarrunner.com characters - such as HomeStar's
"Strong Sad" pictured at left as carved by Ana Rocadas. If you get
a chance, also check out Ana's blog, HowToWashAShowerCurtain.com
