Random crap with Uno.

[Buster's Uncle]

Pumpkin-carving passion keeps the trick-or-treaters lined up
By Tim Skillern 4 hours ago






Pumpkin-carver extraordinaire Mark Ratliff upped his game when he tired of Halloween trick-or-treaters seeing his simple designs and lamenting: “I saw this pumpkin two blocks over.”

Those commonplace triangle-nosed jack-o'-lanterns with toothy grins? See ya later. Hello Captain America, Yoda and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”

Since the late '90s, Ratliff has carved increasingly complex and difficult designs that showcase cartoon characters, mythological creatures and rock stars. He has carved about 100 pumpkins — each taking about three to eight hours — and the effort has paid off.

“I love watching people’s faces light up when they are looking at them,” the 47-year-old Clarkston, Mich., resident says. “By having such a broad range of subject matter carved, I get adults oohing over ‘The Shining,’ while teens would ahhh over the Joker, only to have a little girl get excited to see Tinker Bell.”

See more of his work on Flickr.



Mark Ratliff's "The Ghost"


Ratliff began carving more detailed and time-intensive designs by using stencil patterns sold by companies like Pumpkin Masters. He then discovered websites that featured patterns and message boards that nurtured carving communities where enthusiasts could share tips and tricks. He notes two in particular: stoneykins.com and carvingpumpkins.com. “The community of jack-o'-lantern carvers is very open in sharing tips and answering questions. And there are a LOT of tips and tricks.”

Among his favorite creations: Norse mythology’s Loki, a mummy who’s discovered he’s out of toilet paper, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” a Dark Queen and one entitled “Vampire’s Kiss.” He shared his work and insight with Yahoo News this week.

In 2005, he started creating his own patterns, and all of his designs since 2006 are original.

His most difficult was “The Ghost,” a 2008 feature of a winged and tattered skeleton-like figure who’s clutching a skull: “It was completely cut through with no shading to keep it from falling apart. One slip of the drill or the knife would have destroyed the entire pumpkin.”

And his “Silver Moon Fairy” from 2006, for instance, demanded more than eight hours just to adapt an original Jessica Galbreth painting to the point where he could carve the image. But it’s worth it: He says that design started a trend of carving fairies.



Tinker Bell


Ratliff explains that the darker orange is where a thicker portion of the pumpkin skin remains. The lighter the color, the more he’s carved away and thinned the pumpkin. “For the most part,” he says. “I design my pumpkins with three colors in mind (dark orange/black, light orange and yellow).”

His tool of choice is a Dremel with a 1/32-inch drill bit that allows him to work fine detail into his pumpkins. But he also employs the typical tools of the trade: X-Acto knives, speedballs and clay tools that can be found at most hobby shops. Ratliff has increasingly turned to foam pumpkins — rather than the real thing — so his work won’t sag and rot by early November.

“I love to push myself,” he says, “to see how elaborate a design I can come up with and still be able to carve it.”

http://news.yahoo.com/creative-pumpkin-carving-photos-mark-ratliff-132242383.html

[Unorthodox]

I prefer ye olde traditional carving, myself.   


3 hours to party...

[Unorthodox]

The boss has usurped the computer so no pics tonight.  Posting from my iPod.  Seriously oldschool shooting tonight with a handheld light meter and the bulb setting on Bertha.

[Buster's Uncle]

What's El Babe-O up to that's so important?

[Unorthodox]

She got an iphone and has to use that laptop to do everything to set it up.  I don't want to put my stuff on the windows 8 machine. 

[Unorthodox]

Party time.   Unfortunately, I swiftly got too busy playing host to get many pics.  Some setting was apparently messed up on the point n shoot as well. 





Kids' pumpkins continue to impress me.  LOVE the works of art of every skill level intermingled. 







Not nearly enough chairs this year.  I couldn't even venture a guess how many we had over. 



A unicorn skull?


Well, time to break out Bertha.

[Unorthodox]

Bertha (the big camera) has received a couple of updates over this last year.  Most importantly some 60 year old lenses...this necessitates running the camera in full manual.  However, considered 'junk' in the second set of upgrades was a really old light meter, which I've found to be much better than the in-camera one when using these old lenses.  Some of these shots even had to go to the 'bulb' setting so I could count out the exposure manually. 

Taking pretty much front to back.  One really nifty thing this year is the city 'improved' our street lamps by changing them to LED bulbs, these are VERY directional in their lighting, and I get practically no light pollution from them.  I also approached our next door neighbor, and he let me put some colored bulbs in his garage lights, so I don't get it from THERE either. 



The original Chimera...may be on it's last legs. 



RaNdoM.  I love it. 





Some real artists in there too.  We don't provide stencils, but a few folks have started bringing them.









For me, this will be the enduring image of the year.

[Unorthodox]

So, ~9 year old neighbor down the street did the one on the left...a couple folks attempted to copy cat. 





The burial ground.









Awesome 360 design went up in the tree.



Does anyone understand the whole mustache craze lately?  Even pumpkins are not safe. 

[ariete]

A friend of mine re-posted this on Facebook and I immediately thought of your dislike of "too cute" Halloween decorations...

ahahhahahah i'm going to post on facebook to a drunk friend page, surely he appreciated it.

anyway i've seen many interesting artistic pumpkin heads from unorthodox (this festivity is your karma  ) and the uncle.

sorry if i deal with these things with astonishment but what is ordinary for you here isn't so widespread.

[Unorthodox]

Haven't sat down to do a final tally yet, but somewhere between 550 and 600.  Slightly down from last year, but a number walked away this year as being too scary at the prospect of entering the corn tunnel, including several groups of teenagers.  Such a fine line there...I managed to coax most little ones with 'the magic glow stick', but some wouldn't even approach ME.  The drums (big story about even using them this year) once again prove more daunting than more traditional halloween music.  At least 5 left in tears. 

[Geo]

Is it tradition at your place to put the 'customer' made pumpkins in the front part of the Halloween path, and your work later on?

Some beautifully carved stuff there. And that's all done by children?

Somehow, the pumpkin masks at the entrance of the corn tunnel (your enduring image of the year) reminds me of SW stormtroopers.

Can't really make out the 360° design. The candle must've been fluttering when you took the photo.


All in all, it looked good. One year, I should go see such a Halloween display live.

[Unorthodox]

The 360 is hard to photo.  Nothing to backlight it.  It's a chinese style dragon goes all the way around. 

It's custom that I don't carve any pumpkins save for the fence.  The kids go put pumpkins wherever they want, and come back ON halloween to show their parents. 

An Unorthodox Halloween 2013

[Unorthodox]

Looking over Talia's haul from last night, I see the "keeping up with the dOx's" has deepened in the hood. 

Several full sized bars now.  One ambitious treat bag with 2 full size treats and a package of fruit snacks. 

One bowl of cereal...which is initially a wtf impression, but brilliant when I think about it.  Big, cheap, kids love it.  Hm....If only they made count chocula in the single serve bowls. 

[Unorthodox]

Raiding my wife's camera.  The kids heading to school.



Our traditional family pics before we begin (there was a line forming while we were taking these...we let that deter us last year, but not this.)







Alec...having too much fun with his zombie act.



The candy drop...not pictured, leftover doughnuts from the party for the adults, and a water station (I'm SHOCKED how many appreciate the water...)



Tali, our last trick or treater in the house. 



This is actually a remake of the 2008 costume, as most the theme was remaking old ideas. 

[Unorthodox]

The bridge of death.





Fred the scarecrow, been up all year...



Cool sequence she got heading through the corn tunnel:









Great shot of the burial ground.  The breathing graves were a big hit, but two of them broke when someone tripped on a wire (just need to rewire the motors).  It had to have been either Kyle or Alec, probably when lighting all the pumpkins/candles. 






I always enjoy the chalk on the side, almost as much as the kids do.  Note the blue at the end, coming from the neighbor's garage.  He let me put up colored lights instead of his very bright white ones this year.  Would have preferred a different color, but his sockets are oddly shaped, and the blue was all that would fit.