High speed, or "flash" photography is an art, widely used in scientific research, which also has a dedicated following among those wanting to "blow things apart" in the most elegant way possible. It’s not easy to come up with a perfect shot… consider 1200ft/sec average speed of a bullet, plus a synchronizing laser, hi-tec flash setup and a fancy camera-work. The following is "the best of" gallery from a few masters of the genre.
High Speed Explosions Photography
Stefan, a.k.a. Fotofrog has a gorgeous set, where fruits and some vegetables get blown to smithereens, together with some tableware:
(images credit: Stefan – Fotofrog)
Crayons from Spyzter:
(image credit: Khuong)
Shattered glass lamp:
("Shattered Glass" by Raniel)
Peeled banana (and more from Jasper Nance)
(image credit: Jasper Nance)
Antibacterial soap bar:
(image credit: Jasper Nance)
Unfortunate? doll:
(image credit: Jasper Nance)
Hot tomato:
(image credit: Jasper Nance)
Bullet through a bottle:
(image credit: Johnny Lee)
"Pulsetronics" is UK company specializing in high-speed photography, mostly for science research. They also have a few artistic gems there:
Full Magnum Force:
(image credit: Arya Abidi)
Two spherical shock waves are visible on this "schlieren image" (an interferometric technique used to study the distribution of density gradients within a transparent medium). A serious weapon with considerable force, but nothing a good solid bottle of beer couldn’t do:
