Thanks Jeanbug, Halloween is my second favorite holiday, Christmas is my first (I get to buy myself new camera stuff)

Thanks Carol, I guess 'beauty' really is in the eye of the beholder.

Thanks Lilac, some turn out scary and some funny, they're all whimsical products of my warped imagination.

Don't know where the inspiration for the face came from, every pumpkin has a hidden character in it, I just carve what feels right. You can never tell, you might have a talent for it too, try it, but be careful the carving tools I use are VERY sharp.

Here's the second carving done for Halloween this year. Had to be out of town a couple days, just got back and finished this one in time for the Trick or Treaters tonight. If you missed the first "Punkin Head" look a few pages down and also here's a link to some from years past on our website:
http://www.elliott-design.net/punkin_heads.htm

Carved Pumpkin #2 2015

That's a first, I don't think anyone ever called them beautiful, thanks!

Thanks, I enjoy finding the character hiding in each pumpkin.

Thanks, it's been a fun hobby of mine for years. Yes, the color is a light orange spray to help seal and preserve the pumpkin, they start deteriorating pretty quickly.

Yeah, my wife has several albums from years past. You're right they don't last long, I take photos of the decaying process too.

Thanks, they're fun to do. Each pumpkin has its own personality inside, I just remove meat until the right face comes out.

Thanks, glad you like them, gives me a chance to do what I want to do in stead of what the customer wants.

Thanks, these are a fun release from business work. I do carve in other media also, usually wood, I use the same carving chisels for the pumpkins and they sure are softer to work on.

Here's the first of a series of carved "Punkin Heads" for this year's Halloween, the eyes on this one are catseye marbles. Every year I carve a few of these critters to give my friends and customers. There's an animated slideshow and some photos of previous years on my website if anyone would like to get a short overview of how it's done.

http://www.elliott-design.net/how-to-carve-punkins.htm

Punkin Head Halloween 2015

DavidM, I bought one last December, large upgrade from my T3i, great wildlife and action camera and good all around camera for most any photographer. ISO capabilities are a bit over rated, but still allowed me to get some indoor shots last Christmas without using flash. Studio work with flash and low ISO is super using good glass. Big learning curve to get the most out of it but the 7Dmk11 does everything I need in a camera at present. Paired with a Canon 100/400 it's capable of excellent shots.

From following the thread it appears you are getting your flash setup polished, now the hard part, getting the bees to cooperate. Most bees are attracted to fermenting fruit, you might try an over ripe apple near your flower, and even spreading a bit of the juice in the flower head. With the flashes set on low power you should be able to get multiple shots before they need to fully recharge their capacitors. If your camera allows multiple frames per second try that when a bee gets within the focus area. I know this strayed from your original question of optical or radio triggering but thought it might help with the actual shots.