Rocking the Cradle

A playground favourite for millions of school children the world over, the yoyo is actually, according to some historians, one of the oldest toys around. Museums hold ample examples of terra cotta yoyos from ancient Greece, and wall-paintings in Egyptian temples are said to depict playthings recognisable to the modern eye. While there is little evidence to support the theory that yoyos were once used as weapons, both combatants at Waterloo, Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington, were said to be aficionados. 

Since their introduction Yoyos have come and gone as schoolboy favourites. This image shows my son demonstrating one of his tricks 'Rocking the cradle'. I lit him using a simple home spot light as I wasn't concerned with colour balance because I was using Black and White film. I controlled the light to illuminate his face and his hands holding the yoyo, everything else faded to black. I scanned the Black and White negative into the computer and tweaked the contrast levels only.