Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by boyte1:
Where is this? This is AWESOME! I would love to visit

Newtonian
by pinback

Comment by pinback:
Thanks to all for the kind comments and especially to frisca for the CC critique.

First of all, it is possible to get both balls out at the same time - as frisca pointed out, you just have to lift both end balls and let them go at the same time.

But that's not how I did this, this is genuinely three pictures - the end ones aren't mirrored versions of the same shot. Ironically, I'd have liked them to be a bit more different, and of course if I was trying to make them the same, they would be :-)

Lighting this was difficult - trying to show and freeze the motion at the same time. I used a halogen lamp as general lighting and the on-camera flash to stop the motion. Because the on-camera flash was too bright (and direct) on its own, I ended up making a home-made diffuser consisting of a cardboard tube around the flash with a piece of toilet paper wadded in the end.

I now have a nice new Metz flash unit and that allows me much more flexibility - I might have another go at this shot with it. Thanks again.

Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by adine:
What a hilarious subject! I like the black and white of the cows with the yellow dandylions in the front. I'd like to see more of the cows tho'

No Room!
by pinback

Comment by mcrael:
Yes indeed, a very nice capture. Well done!

Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by e301:
God, haven't seen these things in years - they must be pretty old now? Like the shot - DOF especially. Text doesn't read too well - I guess that's a function of the resolution of the upload more than the curly script. And what else is there to shoot in MK?

Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by JamieWillmott:
The one at the back is doing push-ups!

Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by kiwiness:
An original idea and you pulled it off well. I like the humourous aspect to it.

Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by wewillexplore:
This says to me "backyard." Not "my town." The perspective is cool - but the flowers are a bit too blurred out and your focus is on the grass in the center, not on any of the cows. I'd try a longer DoF and focus on the 3 cows on the right.

Newtonian
by pinback

Comment by frisca:
Hello hello from the Critique Club, Andrew!

This was a super shot, though I have to disagree with some of the comments, I think you can make both end balls move out at the same time. I recall playing with one and if you pull out both end balls and drop them at the same time they both bounce back out with the middle balls not moving at all. :)

Onto the important stuff:

The shadows give it away that these are in fact three pictures, as Rob pointed out, so full marks for meeting the challenge.

Composition wise, I really like this shot and haven't got too many suggestions by way of critique for you, I hope you're not too disappointed! Someone mentioned the motion on the still strings of the "exterior" balls, and I really like that, adds to the kinetic/potential energy transfer theme!

First, its a bit grainy and appears perhaps oversharp? A subtle hand with a noise reducer would do wonders here, if you were so inclined.

I think the biggest area to play with is the lighting on the exterior balls. I can only really see half of each swinging ball while the rest is lost in shadow. I love the way the rest of it is lit, with the foreground lighter and the background fading to that deep red.

I think the heaviness of the top and bottom border unnecessarily even out your picture, I like the panorama feel a high aspect ratio would give on this shot, and would have loved to see you keep it that way with an even border all around.

Overall:great shot! You lined up these three images extremely well. I am left wondering if the right picture is only a mirror of the left? Something i hope you'll answer for us. Well done, and super placement in the challenge.

Milton Keynes - Home of the Concrete Cows
by pinback

Comment by eloise:
It might look more postcardy if it were cropped differently, or if the cows were photographed from a slightly different angle.