The Photo Shoot Is Literally a Photographer Shooting Things

Usually, when you say "shoot" to a photographer, he starts snapping with his camera – but be careful when you say that to California-based photographer Alan Sailer. He may just start shooting … with bullets!

A photo shoot usually requires a photographer to just point a camera and snap – but U.S. artist Alan Sailer takes the process much more literally. The California-based photographer, 54, has captured a series of otherwise unassuming items as they explode on contact with a bullet. [...]

An expert at high-speed photography, Mr Sailer takes the pictures in a dark room positioned around 20cm from the target. The camera, which features a unique home-made flash, is set at a one-second delay.

Mr Sailer, who describes the process as ‘beyond dangerous, says: ‘The special item is the flash. It is a home-built unit based on the design of Harold Edgerton*. The flash is about .5 microsecond in duration and runs at 17,000 volts. It is beyond dangerous, it’s deadly.

‘The flash is triggered when the pellet from a rifle travelling at about 200 metres per seconds passes through a laser beam. Its the same principle as those beams that set off a chime when you walk into a store,’ he continues.

‘The camera is set at one second and an f-stop of 9-13 depending on the reflectivity of the subject. The flash stops the action. The one second gives me time to click the camera shutter with one hand while I pull the trigger on the rifle with the other.’

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lifeinrealtime.