Can you figure out what this is a picture of?

[Renegrenade]

I'll give my two pence here to help give an idea of my thought process then, in case anyone else can figure it out From the right of the photo it seems clear to me that some sort of spring element is used, or definitely something metallic with lots of smaller elements close together (as a spring would appear). However, the left of the image makes this a lot less clear and that's what's led to my skepticism.

I'd focus more on looking how the subject is moving and try and deduce it from that...

*click...lightbulb in head*

Guitar string!?

 

[thekyle]

some kind of gold ribbon?

 

[FavillePhoto]

You guys are getting closer with the guitar string or ribbon. Care to elaborate a little more about the effect?

 

[pharmakon]

A jumprope being spun rapidly?

 

[FavillePhoto]

Also close with the jumprope. You're using the hint that it's a toy.

 

[o hey tyler]

Is it a baton with a ribbon on it?

 

[pharmakon]

The only other thing that comes to mind would be one of those glow in the dark necklaces that they sell at carnivals and such...

 

[mishele]

Slinky

 

[FavillePhoto]

Nice addition with the photo tyler. =] It is not a baton or a ribbon.

So far, the jumprope being spun really fast is the closest guess. Remember, it's a toy. An electronic toy.

 

[Gaerek]

Light-up Yo-yo?

 

[FavillePhoto]

Nope, not a yo-yo.

 

[mishele]

fiber optic wand

 

[FavillePhoto]

Any final guesses before I give away the answer? So far, I'm going to say that Pharmakon with the Fast spinning jumprope is the closest guess.

I'll go maybe 10 more minutes, then I'll post the answer. =]

 

[FavillePhoto]

Okay, since noone has guessed for a while, I'll give you guys the answer. We actually took a whole series of photos like this using a toy called the "Stringin' It". It's basically just a piece of string between 2 arms with motors on them. It spins the string really fast, and it has alot of different buttons you can push to control the speed of the motors, the angle of the arms, etc.. It also has lights that shine up from underneath, and you can control the pattern of the lights, how fast or slow they blink, and what colors they are. See the pic below to see what the toy looks like in regular light:

We set this up in our studio with all the lights off, and a pitch black background and just started shooting. See some of the pics below for more photos in the series. We call them the "Playing with Light" series.

It's kinda cool what kind of pictures you can create from the strangest things...

Thanks to everyone who played along. I thought it was fun. If people are interested, I can continue the game, like once a day, or a couple times a week, come on here with portions of a photo or weird photos that are hard to tell what they are, and let you all guess and play along. Let me know if you thought the game was fun and if you'd like me to do it again.

__________________
John Gilman
"Faville Photo"
Faville Photo - Giclee Printing

 

[Dao]

I will never guess it right since I have not seen anything like that before ... hum .. I must be living in a cave.