MilkyWay, originally uploaded by kalimistuk.

The speed of this strobe is amazing. This appears to be the fastest capture that I have seen so far using the Quaketronics flash controller. The lack of mottion blur shows that the flash duration is a short amount of time.

I didn’t know that you could get .22 pellets in green! Kalimistuk says that they come from Prometheus Pellets.

The Quaketronics flash controller can control a Snap Shot II strobe light. This strobe is faster than the flash that comes in the Quaketronics kit. I measured the duration of both flashes. The SnapshotII provides a flash about 1/8300 of a second, and the flash in the kit provides a flash of about 1/1700 of a second.

Similar strobes (except for 220V operation) are sold under different names in the UK. Look for the familiar shape, and two 6.32mm connectors (that fits a 1/4″ guitar cable) in the back.

Sometimes you can get a lower price on these strobes - today the price is low at amazon.com. I ordered a spare so that I can try the modification suggested by Kalimistuk: use a smaller flash tube. The Snap Shot II strobe is also available at musiciansfriend.com and other online suppliers.

hard boiled egg, originally uploaded by kalimistuk.

This photograph called “hard boiled egg” by kalimistuk is one of my favorites. His whole High Speed series is excellent. He shows what can be done with nerves of steel, a low-power sidearm, and willingness to clean up some spectacular messes!

Kalimistuk has also measured the speed of various flashes, and successfully modified a flash to make it faster. I will try out his mod, and if I can get it to work I will post it on the Quaketronics web site.

Balloon Waves, originally uploaded by Exocentric.

In this balloon popping photograph posted by Exocentric on the Flickr MAKE: Strobe Photography group there is a small amount of fine powder inside the balloon. I don’t know what powder was used in this picture, but others have reported good (but messy!) results with corn starch.

From the cleanliness of the red background, I would guess that this picture worked perfectly the first time!

This is a picture with a balloon in mid-pop. In high-speed photography, popping a balloon like the the ‘Hello, world!’ program in software. It is the first thing that you should try. It almost always works, and you get something that you can’t see with the naked eye.

Having taken many balloon popping photographs, I have come to appreciate the faces of the people popping the balloons. They are all unique and the pictures are not ordinary portrait poses. They are much more interesting, often capturing an intense expression.

This picture was taken at the Maker Faire in 2006 by someone who walked into our booth and used his own camera. You can do the same - we’ll be at the Maker Faire on May 19 and 20, 2007 at the San Mateo, California Fairgrounds. Bring your camera and give it a try!

wine glass in 3D, originally uploaded by espressobuzz.

If you cross your eyes, this picture pops into 3D! Click on the picture above to get to this Flickr MAKE: Strobe Photography group photograph for more instructions if you have trouble seeing the 3D picture.

Here is how it works:
High-speed pictures are taken in the dark, and sound triggers the flash. The camera is set to a long exposure time, but since the room is dark, the only light available is from the flash. If there is more than one camera, both cameras use the light from the same flash. In this picture, two cameras at slightly different angles share the light from a single flash, and capture the moment in 3D!

In a previous posting Espressobuzz tips off viewers to the StereoPhoto Maker software.

Learn about high-speed photography at the Edgerton Explorit Center in Nebraska, or see the Gallery.

Doc Edgerton invented the stroboscope and took many familiar high-speed photographs. The museum has hands-on exhibits, demonstrations, a summer camp, and the Oscar-winning 10 minute film short Quicker’n a Wink.

The Ultimate Golf Impact Shot, originally uploaded by Photosmudger.

The deformation of sporting goods is one of the classics of high-speed photography.

I was able to provide Photosmudger with a small amount of advice for this shot. The challenge was to minimize the delay between the impact and the flash. The speed of sound is the enemy here. My suggestion was to locate the microphone underneath the green, and to attach it to the golf tee. That takes advantage of the speed of sound in wood, which is faster than the speed of sound in air.

If I could only hit a golf ball, I would try this myself!

Water drop, originally uploaded by Quaketronics Tom.

This water drop was one of the first photographs that we took using two SnapshotII strobes and the Quaketronics flash controller. You can see the pair of highlights in the picture, one from each strobe.

The drop is actually a mixture of alcohol and ethylene glycol (antifreeze), with some green food coloring added. The drop is landing in a white plate that has a thin layer of water in it. The water has a greenish hue because previous drops were mixed in with the water.

We adjusted the mixture of alcohol and antifreeze to control the shape of the drop. Adding more alcohol flattens out the drop.

To get good depth of field, we used as large an F-stop as possible. This required the most light. To get the most light, the strobe lights are positioned very close to the water drop.

This blog is about topics of interest to electronics hobbyists. I will write about high-speed photography, audio, and whatever else fits!

-Tom