My favorite pic of the night

Jim McGill of Photo444 took this…damn him. I simply love it!

More iPhone pics

My buddy Jimmy took these tonight at the second preview. He’ll be here tomorrow as Photo444 to take the guests costume portraits. He hates Halloween but loves photographing people. I find this torment hysterically funny.

iphone pics

Lots of folks taking pictures with their iPhones the last 2 nights. Pirates are being sent all over the cell lines.
Of these 4, the 2 above are from my friend Christi and the 2 at the bottom are mine from last nights preview. It’s really dark and difficult to get a clear shot so I will need to set up my tri-pod to get something good or bug my buddy Jim to take some for me. My feet are saying the latter 😉

Lights and Camera

Tonight was light testing so I took a few quick pics. The people that live next door to me just moved in last year. They were gone on a two week vacation last Halloween so they had no idea what they moved in next to. I thinks it’s just wonderful that they fear I’m a crazy. I have the last laugh because I know they’re right!

The Details

Jame was here again to help with the details. We worked on the ship, the barrels and the pirate skull. She can still stand on a ladder (unlike me) and not worry the entire time about falling off. I held the ladder 😉 We had many “visitors” today and eventually we just decided to all wave and keep moving. Only so much daylight…and hours left.

Helpers

There is never a loss for kids that want to help and this year is no different.

Rum Barrels

My Dear Buddy Jamie always comes to lend a hand. She’s a professional muralist and her task here is to take some plastic barrels and transform them to old wood. First Mike primed them up in brown and then she did her magic. I’ll get some better pics but placed against the backdrop, well you get the idea.

Sunken Ship

We created this sunken ship with scrap wood from a home being built up the street, chicken wire, roofing paper and a bit of rope and paint. The wooden planks still need to be painted on the side…but you get the idea. The mast is plumbing pipe topped with a torn black sail and pirate flag. Better pics to come.

The Ship’s Wheel

I must apologize for the delay in photos this year. My camera was out on loan briefly and now back in action. This post shows how you can build a ships wheel out of a plywood disc when you don’t have one and don’t want to spend the cash! I like to re-use old props for new and this is no exception. This old piece of round wood has been part of alien ship, a tiger cart and now in it’s glory as the new pirate ship wheel. Yes folks, you may try this at home…

Begining the Holiday

I do realize I’m running a bit late on my Halloween posting…but my goodness ghost grief, I’ve been busy. This year has to do with Pirates matey. About 7 years ago, I created a different Pirate theme so I have several pieces I will be re-using…thus allowing me to begin a bit late. The first pics here show the black wall being set up inside the garage for the Pirate mural to be attached and enhance the theme. My workplace graciously donated it to the cause, knowing they’d never have a moments peace until it was placed into my hands. It was created in 3 sections and I will admit to allot of communal yelling while I got the crossovers absolutely spot on. The ship was quite a challenge. Yes, yes, those buckets on the right are all full of Halloween props. One can never have enough skulls, appendages, costumes, wigs and lights that spin, whirl or howl. The balance is up in the attic and just to find and organize the items (that I may / may not use) takes weeks of researching. It dawns on me I may be the only woman not sitting in jail with buckets labeled severed feet, hands and bloody heads. Did I mention the life size props in the backyard? Another time. The mural extends 14 feet across the back of the garage with a 8 foot 6 inch height. There will be a dock extending from the mural to add the dimension. Beyond that, certain “dock” type props are being built from bits and pieces I’ve been collecting since summer. There will be crates and barrels and chests and treasure. All will add to the illusion to make the viewer feel like they’ve gone back in time.