Evil Eyes - using a mixture of double cream and red food colouring distributed through a large pipet - a stroke of luck (and skill of course) when it actually came out through the eyes!

Evil Eyes – using a mixture of double cream and red food colouring distributed through a large pipet – a stroke of luck (and skill of course) when it actually came out through the eyes!

I recently saw some amazing fine art photography of the effects of coloured droplets in water and was inspired to take this notion a step further and experiment using coloured water as a prop to create a scene. With Halloween round the corner, hubby Davey & I thought what better occasion to have a little fun and make a bit of a mess in the kitchen?!

So with a specially made glass tank in place, Davey got to work artfully cutting out the pumpkin face while I set the kit up with the help of our cat Gizmo who was desperate to get in on the action!

We had a few logistics to consider with our pumpkin head shot once we poured all the water in – like, how do you stop it from bobbing around and how will the liquid look when poured through?

After a few attempts at literally holding and releasing the pumpkin, anchoring it to the bottom of the tank and a couple of other failed ideas we decided that something more sturdy & more control was needed to hold it in place. Time for a coffee break.

We did a bit of research and trial and error and found that double cream mixed with food colouring acts as a great agent for creating the sinister yet beautiful swirling clouds!

Well, after some scratching of heads and calling in some reinforcements to help control the release of our many coloured liquids into the tank, Team CG got cracking and here are some of the results – we hope you like them!

Original shot - suspended upside down in a tank of water with a skewer looped over a pole

Original shot – suspended upside down in a tank of water with a BBQ skewer (of all things) looped over a pole – this shot shows early stages when we had WAY too much cream coming out!

Blue Haze - using a mixture of double cream and blue and purple food colourings distributed through large pipets

Blue Haze – using a mixture of double cream and blue and purple food colourings distributed through large pipets

Purple Mist - using a mixture of double cream and purple food colourings distributed through a large pipet

Purple Mist – using a mixture of double cream and purple food colourings distributed through a large pipet

Impressionist Pumpkin - a different approach using a white background and food colouring on its own to create vibrant colours

Impressionist Pumpkin – a different approach using a white background and food colouring on its own to create vibrant colours

Credits:

Photography & general direction: Stefanie Calleja-Gera

Photography assistant, pumpkin carver, problem solver & chief liquid distributor: Davey Terrific

Liquid distributor no.2, logistics assistance & water filtration expert: Joe Calleja-Gera

General nuisance & loud mouth: Gizmo-the-cat