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High-speed photography is a fascinating way to capture the images that we don’t often get to see. So many amazing things happen in the blink of an eye - moving too quickly for us to see more than a blur and the aftermath. Using clever equipment and quick shutters, these talented photographers freeze time and illuminate one single critical moment. If they time it just right, high-speed photographers can catch a moment of impact, explosion, or surprising movement - and it makes for incredible art.
(images via: Stefan)
Stefan’s high-speed photographs combine the sophistication of fine art and the fun of watching stuff explode. The brave hand model with bright red fingernails in many of his pictures holds items which are then shot with a gun. The resulting images are not only beautiful, but fascinating - not to mention a little dangerous.
(images via: Martin Waugh)
The liquid sculptures of Martin Waugh are amazingly intricate and often involve surprising shapes. Although he admits that liquids are difficult to control, Martin Waugh seems to have a knack for capturing the perfect moment. His images are created with high-speed flash photography and cleaned up - but not altered - in Photoshop. The combination of movement, color and organic shapes makes these images unforgettable. Martin Waugh kindly shares his techniques on his blog, and he also sells prints of his work.
(images via: Universität Wien)
These images from Peter Wienerroither of light bulbs shattering and burning show just how much detail can be captured with high-speed photography. Each tiny bit of glass is illuminated and frozen in mid-air - and you can almost hear the sound of shattering glass.
(images via: Boris Bos)
The high-speed photography of Boris Bos uses the simple but elegant combination of apples and water. The moment of impact is captured, with every drop of water taking on its own graceful shape as it leaps into the air.
(images via: Jasper Nance)
Jasper Nance is, without a doubt, one of the best high-speed photographers to ever fire a gun. Her creative and innovative images are captured using a homemade high-speed flash, which is itself a work of art. Many of her photographs involve items being shot with various types of guns; she then captures the resulting explosions, splatters, and crazy airborne patterns made by the guts of the fired-upon object. Her photos look like research or scientific experiments, but she’s in it for the art - and the fun.
(images via: Hannoc)
Hannoc’s unique photos explore what happens to balloons when they are pierced or shot. Freezing the exact moment of breakage provides a fascinating picture of the balloon literally peeling away from its contents, which for that split second remain in place as though still held by the balloon.
(images via: Johnny Chung Lee)
Johnny Chung Lee is an all-around phenomenal photographer. His love of photography shows through in every image he produces, whether it’s a portrait, a still life, or an exploding beer bottle. These playful high-speed images beautifully show off Johnny Chung Lee’s skill, while all of the photos on his website prove his versatility.
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70 Comments
October 9th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Wow, these are some very cool pictures. I have always been a big fan of high speed photography. It is amazing how much really beautiful stuff we miss because we can not see it. I think my favorite are the ones that show things being shot or broken, but the water ones by Martin Waugh are very cool as well.
I am sure there is a more technical term for it, but high speed videos are very cool as well. I really like Mythbusters, and get a kick out of when they do the high speed videos of one of their experiments.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Amazing moments captured in a photo. Just amazing!
October 10th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Bullets through stuff, broken things, and water drop themes have been done ad infinitum since the invention of the stroboscope.
Why can’t they think of anything else to photograph, like naked women jogging?
October 10th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
You know, I hope he drank the beer before he smashed the bottles. Other than that, there are cool pictures.
October 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
As cool as these pictures are the first 100000 times you see them, I think it’s time someone came up with some new ideas for high speed photography. I clicked a link on fark and these are pretty much the same pictures as any high speed ones that I’ve seen for the past 3 or 4 years. Maybe some high speed car or motorcycle pictures? Surfing pictures? Karate or fight pictures? It’s just gettin old to see things explode from a bullet or some other equally mundane way. Still cool, but looking forward to new stuff!
October 10th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
This is the best collection I’ve seen. The best of the best, well-rounded.
Good to keep around for the new generations who haven’t seen these before.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Way to cool for Limpet or Lavin.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
“His images are created with high-speed flash photography and cleaned up - but not altered - in Photoshop”
If they were cleaned up, then they WERE altered.
It’s amazing that you can write as well as you do, without appearing to actually understand the language you are using.
October 10th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
@ Jamie: The bit about Martin Waugh’s “cleaning up” the images in Photoshop actually came from the artist’s website. Perhaps he says it more clearly than I did above: “I use Photoshop to clean up the background, balance the color and tidy up a bit. I don’t alter the shapes or composition.”
October 10th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Here are some examples of high-speed photography in the field with insects, bats, frogs and more.
http://archive.durmphoto.com/c/md/
M
October 10th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Cool but nothing new.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:50 am
I have done these things too, but using many more camera angles.
http://keskustelu.plaza.fi/muropaketti/bbs/c7
October 11th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
That blowed up real good!
Yeah, real good.
October 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Hey Jamie, I was just appreciating the art, and was bummed out by your sour comment. The person who corrected you was right. Why be such a pill? The drops of water are my favorite- they’re beautiful!
October 11th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
It is possible that i missed a reference to Dr. Harold Edgerton of MIT, the inventor of the stroboscopic flash. All of the contributors to this gallery are in his debt.
October 12th, 2008 at 2:31 am
???????????
October 12th, 2008 at 4:49 am
My favorite one was the lightbulb on fire! coool!
October 12th, 2008 at 5:22 am
no much left to imagine
common objects blown up good
maybe we can try a pie
October 12th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
You might also be interested in the work of Marcel Christ: http://marcelchrist.com/
October 12th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
i wanna see a photo at the point of a when a whip ‘cracks’
October 12th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Old-school high-speed photography:
http://timesonline.typepad.com.....t_cong.jpg
October 12th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Why dont these be some photoshop effets?
I suspect some of these do come in that category
October 12th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Wow, these images are really great. Its really hard to choose the best. Each one has its own speciality.
Awesome images.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Jaw dropping images.
wow man. Just super cool.
I just can’t imagine how much effort had been put together to take these images.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Amazing… Love it…
Well done!
October 13th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Great imagery!!!
http://www.DutchLabUSA.com
October 13th, 2008 at 8:33 am
I like these photos. It was have taken great effort to take such great photos.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:26 am
i love these images.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:10 am
These would be incredibly fun to shoot, they’re all taken at the perfect time.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Quick flashes > quick shutters
Anyway, these are awesome.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Oh wow, this is incredible. Thanks for sharing!
October 16th, 2008 at 3:41 am
My God!!!!!!!
The photography is a fascinating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 16th, 2008 at 4:07 am
????????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? (???????????) ????????? ??? ????
October 16th, 2008 at 7:11 am
hey, man, i loved this pictures, u’re the best!!!
ur job is amazing…
i’m photographers too, but this is so…so…so fantastic!!!
October 16th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Great pics! Photography never fails to capture my interest, especially those that are taken by people with talent. Hope to bet better at it. Thanks for sharing. And to the negative comments, I’m sure new shots will be offered. With this kind of talent, it is sure to come.
October 16th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Awesome pictures.. It is amazing how much beautiful stuff we don’t see it with our eye.. Thanks for sharing with us..
October 18th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
i’m surprise! she’s very good!
October 18th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
i’m brazilian! sorry! my english is very very very bad!
October 19th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Parabens pelas fotos … eu moro no Brasil e aqui é bem dificil de encontrar qualidades com essa …. eu sempre adorei fotos por este motivo que estou elogiando vcs ….e vcs merecem ..
Att: Jeffeson… ( Brasil)
October 26th, 2008 at 8:59 am
amazing captured!
i never see like this
November 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Link most, I think these images are really neat. Also like most, I am utterly sick of seeing them over and over and OVER. Very neat and very ubiquitous (With the latter diminishing the former).
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