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Archive for October, 2009

I’ve been asked quite a few times how I take pictures of the flaming pumpkins. In actuality, it’s very simple and doesn’t require expensive cameras or tricky setups. I’ve listed the camera equipment I use and the settings. You should be able to do the same thing with your DSLR or Point and Shoot camera.

Equipment:

My camera is a Canon Rebel XTI with an 18-200mm OS lens. Any camera body and lens will work, you just need to be able to set the camera to use a long exposure; meaning you have to control the shutter speed.

The camera is mounted to a tripod. This is pretty much essential for these photos. There is no way you can hold the camera for 1/2 to 2 full seconds and expect anything more than a blur. You can get Gorilla Pods from BestBuy relatively cheap. You can also use any hard flat surface to hold the camera. Even a box will work as long as the camera doesn’t shake. I use both portrait and landscape shots when I take pictures. You may find you are using portrait the most since the flames will be pretty high and won’t show up in the shot otherwise.

A shutter release is good to have but not absolutely necessary. As long as your camera has a self-timer of 10 or 2 seconds you’re good to go.

Taking the shot:

I set my camera to ISO 100. The shots will be long exposures and I want as little noise as possible. Pick the lowest setting you have.

I put the camera in Shutter (Tv) priority. I usually start with a 1 second exposure and experiment from there. After awhile you may need to increase the exposure to capture the details.

Put the camera on the tripod or sturdy surface.

Set the timer or use the remote function so you can trigger the camera.

Line up your camera before you light the pumpkin. Use a flashlight to focus on it and get the right distance for your lens. You’ll want to be able to zoom in and out without having to get too close or adjust positions. You also want to be ready for those first few seconds, that’s when you can get some wild results.

With the camera set, light the pumpkin then move back into position quickly. Check your focus since now it should be very easy for the camera to lock in on the pumpkin.

I stand off to the side and trigger the camera. I just keep taking photos and checking my results. Try longer exposures like 2 – 5 seconds for a really "after burner" style effect. Slow speeds like 1/40 or even 1/500 will show wisps of flame that almost look like liquid.

To get the higher shutter speeds you will need to increase the ISO settings. I usually go to ISO 1600 or at least ISO 800 to get past 1/100. I usually try a couple at this speed but much prefer the 1 second exposures that you see in my pictures.

Try all sorts of different settings and check them in the preview. But take a whole bunch and see what you get!

Even if the pumpkin isn’t on fire and you use tea lights the same technique applies. Put the camera on a tripod, set a long exposure (1 sec is still a good choice) and set the timer. Check what you have and adjust accordingly.

Good Luck and have fun!!

I had my first outing at Scarowinds last night. It was part of a team event and they paid for us to go. I’m normally not a huge fan of amusement parks since I can’t ride the roller coasters like I want. I’m not scared of them, but all that bouncing around makes me dizzy and disoriented. Sort of like drinking tequila, but not as much fun. But, since it was someone else’s money I was bound and determined to go.

Actually, I was very impressed. I had always thought it was just a couple of rides you went on in the dark and they had a few people in costumes. There’s a lot more to it. Yes, there are quite a few rides, and riding them in the dark is actually pretty freaky since you’re not sure where you’re going, but there are plenty of haunted houses and mazes to go through as well.

I went on the coasters and yes I got dizzy, but after each one we stood in line for a haunted house. This was enough time to get me straightened back out again, and then we’d head off for another coaster.

And the people in costumes? Oh yeah, there were plenty of them and some really good ones too. Blood and core, exposed bones, broken spinal columns and even a girl sitting in the corner keeping to herself, gnawing on her wrists. Icky.

It was kind of expensive at $40, but if you were to go to two haunted houses you’ve already spent at least that much, and here they offer at least eight of them. I think there were some more but we ran out of time.

I think I’ll have to go again next year since I had a darn good time. Oh yeah, and that Nighthawk? Oh hell!

As you know my pumpkin lighting attempts have been scrubbed multiple times over the past few weekends. Wind and rain have been my enemy so no flaming pumpkins for me. But last night, that all changed!

Something was off with my gasoline mixture though. It seems rain got into the works and caused my toilet paper roll to be saturated with water as well as gas. Even though it had the distinct odor of gas, it didn’t have the lightability of such. As a result, nothing happened. No whoosh. No poof. Nothing. Here I was thinking this roll which had been soaking for nearly four days was going to create a mushroom cloud and in the end I got nothing.

When faced with such a dilemma there is really only one thing to do. Yep, add more gas to the mix. I filled the bottom of the pumpkin with gas and proceeded as normal. As you might expect, I got my whoosh!

There are some great photos in this batch. I captured some really impressive fireworks in these shots.

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