Traffic Cones

Throughout this challenge there’ve been a few entries featuring customised traffic cones. Your ‘Funeral’ branded version together with its holy cross is my favourite. Positioned in the middle of a ‘No Entry’ road it doubly emphasises that there’s a burial in progress and no cars are allowed beyond that point. The black and white treatment of your graveyard composition enhances the solemnity of the occasion. Ironically then that your photo is a humorous example of a dead end road - perhaps placed there by a skeleton staff.

I see that this documentary photo was taken at the Yorkshire wildlife park but it could easily serve as a powerful image for a campaign against plastic pollution. It’s not beyond comprehension that a traffic cone could find its way to the polar bear inhabited North Pole. Your predominantly blue and white composition is beautifully offset by the splash of bright orange gripped between the bear’s powerful jaws. I’m glad that what at first sight appears to be a disturbing scenario turns out to be nothing more than a delightfully playful ursus maritimus.

This is a well-captured traffic cone scenario that tells the complete story in one take. Everything that needs to be in the picture is there. The cars driving through the designated area; the prohibiting traffic cones stopping cars encroaching the roadworks and the road workers themselves carrying out their job in safety. All the objects of your narrative are equally distributed throughout your composition that couldn’t have been bettered had you positioned the elements yourself.

This photo is so right yet so wrong. It has the potential of being a great minimalist composition but has the biggest photographer’s bugbear of all - a crooked horizon. Personally I would have removed the horizon line all-together along with the black snow markings to leave a pristine white canvas with just the red traffic cones snaking away into the empty distance.

Here is a road that someone definitely doesn’t want people to drive down. One would think that installing a permanent concrete barrier across the width of the road would be enough to deter any driver from proceeding further. In case encroaching motorists didn’t get the message they’ve placed three brightly coloured traffic cones in front of the blockade. You’ve even included, in the corner of your blot-on-the-landscape photo, the back of a knocked down road sign which I’ll wager says - ‘No Entry’!

As soon as I set this challenge I knew they’d be entries of probably the most famous traffic cone placed on the head of a monument. Exasperated by pranksters replacing the cone on top of the Duke Of Wellington as soon as officials removed it, the Glasgow council try everything to deter what has become a traditional practice. Of the similar submissions I liked yours because you paid careful attention to your compositional alignment. I’m not a fan of selective colour photography but, in this case, it works by drawing attention to the cone. The one thing that puzzles me is how (judging by your map placement) the Duke managed to navigate his way from Glasgow to Inverness with the traffic cone covering his eyes.

There is so much to like about this photo of the eccentric homeless man making music by blowing down a traffic cone in order to earn some pennies from passersby. Your tight crop rightly concentres on the man and his cone with just enough background detail showing (no doubt smirking) pedestrians walking by. You’ve wisely not gone overboard by using vibrant colours but used a restrained palette in respect of the sad man’s plight. I love how your sharp photo has managed to pick up detail like his mismatched pair of shoes and the surreal juxtaposition showing how big traffic cones are compared to the size of a grown man. Finally, I love your title with it’s clever play-on-words - something in the armoury of entrants that is sadly overlooked as its an important aspect in swinging the judge’s vote.

It’s the incredulous gull looking at the Duke of Wellington’s traffic cone hat that makes your photo funny. He’s obviously just flown in because he wouldn’t of been surprised to see the prankster’s permanent fixture. What is odd about your photo is the white object underneath the horses head. I would have removed it but then maybe you were right to leave it in as it adds to the sense of humour by looking as if the gull is having a good long poo.

This is so silly that I absolutely love it. You did well to catch these five roadside characters dressed as traffic cones at a street cycling event. Their haphazard poses add to the sense of humour and the costume-less boy breaks up the jaunty line perfectly. You’ve even managed to squeeze a real cone into the corner of your photo. In the best traditions of street photography you’ve caught a funny moment that wouldn’t look out of place in Martin Parr’s street portfolio. Mind you, if I was a cycling competitor I would’ve probably fallen off my bike at the absurd sight of human traffic cones pointing out a detour.

I admire your commitment to getting down and dirty amongst the traffic cones in order to take your ground level photograph. Your close-up has enable us to see the hexagonal patterns in the reflective surfaces not normally visible from a distance. The two rows create an tight tunnel with the colour cone bases looking like double yellow ‘no parking’ lines. Your composition is perfectly sandwiched by the two nearside cones to create a unique entry that has a very grounded approach.