Orange slinky 1
Posted on by Debbie

Put a spring in your step – with an old fashioned slinky!

A slinky is fun at any age!

Spring is Terri’s theme for Sunday Stills this week. As we are settling into Autumn down here, it was suggested to me (by Terri herself) to ‘just use the play on words (like a literal spring) or isn’t it the autumnal equinox in your part of the world where you can spring into fall? I’m sure you will choose something very clever Debbie!’ I like Terri’s faith in me!

I discussed my ‘spring‘ dilemma with my husband, and then my sister, before deciding to use a slinky, which is literally a spring. With my creativity juices a bit depleted, my sister came to the rescue with lots of ideas and props. She’s a top notch photographer and is always willing to help me learn new tricks. We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon shooting my new friend Slinky, with some great results. My sister also helped me with the editing process, so it turned into a mini-photography lesson. Thanks so much Sharon!

A Slinky is a toy precompressed helical spring invented by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum, or appear to levitate for a period of time after it has been dropped.

Wikipedia

Here are some of my favourite photos.

Slinky au naturel:

  • Slinky au naturel 1
    Springing into autumn
  • Slinky au naturel 2
    Black and white slinky

Slinky on orange:

  • Orange slinky 2
  • Orange slinky 3
  • Orange slinky 1

Slinky on blue:

  • Blue slinky 3
  • Blue slinky 2
  • Blue slinky 1

The process:

I searched a few toy shops in Hawthorn (Melbourne), and bought a Magic Spring for just a few dollars.

We shot outside using coloured cardboard as a backdrop, or cyclorama, ensuring the shadows and light weren’t interfering too much with the shot. I used both a normal and a macro lens to shoot these and we edited them in Lightroom.

I enjoyed the interesting shadows created by the light and the effects of the slinky. In total it probably took us about an hour or so with discussion along the way and more helpful explanations while we edited. It was a fun way to be creative together and I love learning new skills.

So there you go, spring doesn’t have to be all about flowers, busy bees and warm sunshine, with a bit of thought it can be a creative experiment with interesting results.

I now have a new toy to play with and I found out how the slinky came into being in the first place back in 1943 – so win/win! And as Terri suggested, I’m springing into autumn as well!! Proof you’re never too old to play with a slinky or learn new tricks 🙂

Put a spring in your step

All my Sunday Stills posts can be found here – photos are all mine!

Do you have a favourite photo in my collection? Let me know in a comment below.

Have a great week ahead. Put a spring in your step!

Debbie

Sunday Stills photo challenge

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44 Replies to “Put a spring in your step – with an old fashioned slinky!”

  2. SprUng! Well-done on the interpretation. The best slinky is a metal one. I loved the one that was mandala shaped. Good on you, and your sister….playing and creating together! The best fun, Hope she is going OK.

    Thank you for linking up for #LifeThisWeek Next week’s optional prompt: April Is About. Denyse

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    1. Yes I agree metal a slinky is the best sort. It was a good ‘outside the square’ moment when I thought of the slinky for the theme of spring. 😊

      Sharon is slowly improving and we’ve had a mix of easy days & doing things but not overdoing it.

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  3. What a very creative take on the theme. And gosh this brought back lots of memories of slinkies from when my kids were little. They never looked quite so appealing though. Great photography Deb. And bonus, now you have a new toy to play with!

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  5. I like how you took the literal approach to the word SPRING! I had a slinky when I was little and I was absolutely fascinated with it! Love the photography here. I have Photoshop and Lightroom and even a macro lens too. Love photography … but don’t get into as much as I used to. I think my favourite of your slinky shots is the 3rd slinky on orange shot! Have a great week Deb! 🙂

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    1. Thanks Jo, it was incredibly easy to get these effects, once I was shown how anyway!! Just a piece of cardboard curved over! I had a lot of fun playing around and that’s what it’s all about!

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  10. Creative ideas, Deb, for both the theme and the photos! Loved my Slinky…and they were stocking stuffers for my kids at Christmas one year as I recall!

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    1. Yes I think slinkys were a great stocking filler over the years Nancy. Thanks for the compliment, it’s always fun trying to think outside the square and my sister is very creative.

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  12. My husband has a couple of Spiderman slinkys (Spiderman is his obsession!). I love slinkys, they’re such good, innocent fun and they bring back many happy childhood memories! 🙂

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    1. Wow, a Spiderman slinky – who knew?? I loved having a play with my new slinky and yes they bring back lots of childhood memories. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

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    1. Yes I learnt a lot when researching the humble slinky! Even how it was invented was an interesting story, they’ve been around for decades and are still popular 🙂 . Hope your weather improves soon.

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    1. Thanks Heidi! I was wondering how I could best represent ‘spring’ and decided to just go literal. I’m glad it worked out so well. Thanks for sharing your memories of your childhood fun with a slinky, I think we’ve all had them walk down the stairs!

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    1. Thanks Leanne, it was such fun to work with my sister and do something a bit different. I’m glad you got to play with a slinky despite not having one as a child. I’ve got a new one now 😊

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