MAKE: Blog: Explody Easter Peeps (High speed photography)

Explody Easter Peeps (High speed photography)

2355583896 5C5287D510
2354710509 62Ef5Cc021
2355438033 Efacd1Efe8
David shows you how to capture Peeps exploding... -

It's 3 a.m. and a phone rings in the White House...

Or actually, it was about 3 p.m. and a phone rang in my pocket. By chance the phone happened to be mine and on the other end of it was 3ric asking if I'd be able to help with a project that evening. Seems he had acquired about 10 liters of liquid nitrogen and, among other things, was hoping to use it to do some high-speed flash photography of frozen things shattering into a million pieces upon being shot with a pellet rifle.

All was well and good according to plan, except for the flash trigger, which was stuck in the mail somewhere. Could I hack one together by evening? And thus is how I got my project for the day.

A flash trigger for high-speed photography is a really simple device. Basically all you need to do is take an audio signal and use that to trigger a flash if the signal exceeds a certain level. Rather than muck about with $10 worth of op-amps, transistors, voltage dividers and a bunch of so-called "electrical engineering", I splurged for the $2 solution and threw the equivalent of a mid-1980's personal computer at it... i.e. a microcontroller. Specifically, an AVR-based Arduino board. (ok, so the arduino cost me $30, nitpicker).

Long story short and after overcoming two rather significant obstacles (#1 being not having a microphone, #2 being not having a flash) we were able to kludge together a workable flash trigger. By the end of the evening, with me manning the trigger and fellow HBL'er David behind the camera, we got some cool pics.

More photos.

Related:
Mkhspkit-2
High-Speed Photography Kit. Capture high-speed events -- A splash. Popping balloons. Breaking glass. Use your imagination! Adjustable flash controller triggered by light or sound.

Make Pt0525
Homemade Strobe Photography & read more in the MAKE digital edition.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Mar 23, 2008 08:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Imaging | Permalink | Comments (0)

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!

Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.

$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)

Subscribe now

Void your warranty, violate a user agreement, fry a circuit, blow a fuse, poke an eye out... Welcome to the Make Blog!

Features and more @ MAKE!

Add MAKE to iGoogle - GoogleGoogle.
Add MAKE to your RSS reader - Real simple.

Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!

Click here to advertise on MAKE!

Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311

Gareth Branwyn
Robot Maker

Kip Kay
Video Maker

Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Researcher

Suggest a Site!

Natalie Zee Drieu
Senior Editor
CRAFT

Becky Stern
Culture jammer

Collin Cunningham
Sound Maker

Marc de Vinck
CNC Maker

Current Podcast

Weekend Project: Mousetrap Powered Vehicle Vroom! Power a balsa wood vehicle from the energy of a mousetrap! Fun and easy project! No mice were harmed during the filming of this video. To download Mousetrap Powered Vehicle MP4 click here or subscribe in iTunes.... More...

Get the Make blog sent via email

Enter your email to receive the Make blog each day:

WOW! Thanks to everyone involved with Maker Faire Austin: attendees, makers, exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, and crew...it was AMAZING! Over 350 Makers and 20,000 attendees! Be sure to check out the photos @ Flickr, and our Maker Faire posts for all the action! Next year, scheduled Maker Faire's are: Bay Area: May 3rd & 4th, 2008 - San Mateo County Fairgrounds and Austin: Oct. 18th & 19th, 2008 - Travis County Expo Center!