Alan Sailer's photographs of objects exploding as they are hit at high speed

Alan Sailer's photographs of objects exploding as they are hit at high speed.

A pellet shreds three lit cigarettes in one of Alan Sailer's impressive high-speed photographs. He creates amazing images of everyday items being hit by projectiles. We will have a gallery of his work on the site later today.
A pellet shreds three lit cigarettes in one of Alan Sailer's impressive photographs. He creates amazing images of everyday items being hit by projectiles. Using high-speed photography, he can capture in stunning detail the moment items such as marbles and air gun pellets pass through objects. Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
An air rifle pellet split by a razor. One of Alan's early shots, this image caused a stir online.
Alan started his hobby after building his own 20,000 volt microsecond flash in 2008. He was encouraged when an image he took of a pellet being split by a razor blade caused a stir online. "I was very surprised at the reaction to the razor blade splitting the pellet shot. It has had over 270,000 views and made me a little famous. The shot scared me, I didn't know if pieces of razor blade would come flying out." Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
Alan's current favourie shot: 'Keyboard Chaos'. A white gelatin-filled Christmas bulb hits an old keyboard at high speed
"My current favourite is always the next shot I am going to take," he says. "However, at the moment I like Keyboard Chaos (a Christmas bauble filled with gelatin hitting a computer keyboard) because it looks like it's a Photoshop fake. Sometimes a picture just comes out looking like it's not real, which is fun. It is fun thinking of new things to shoot; many of my ideas come when I'm doing other things, like bike riding." Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A marble tears through a hotdog
Contrary to the destructive nature of his work, Alan isn't a fan of firearms. He explains: "I don't like guns as some people seem to think from the photos. It just that the only way to get great high speed photos is to photograph something going at high speed. I've tried to think of a more peaceful way of getting high speed shots, but so far no luck. Even a table saw blade is going slow compared to the speed of this flash." Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A small gelatine-filled Christmas globe hits a large clear gelatine-filled Christmas globe
Despite safety precautions, Alan has had a few close-calls when creating his pictures. "I have been hit by flying debris lots of times. It's mostly harmless, with a few exceptions. My face is always behind a Lexan shield and I am always wearing ear protection. Once it was hot in the garage and I had my shirt off. Got a few small cuts from flying glass." Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A marble hitting a can of Mountain Dew
Luckily, Alan has an understanding partner. "My wife Kathy is fine with my stupid hobbies. She gets a little worried when I try something especially dangerous, but she seems to feel that I keep trying to make things as safe as possible. I try not to hurry a new set-up like the air cannon and am always thinking about how things could go wrong." Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
Alan Sailer's photography set-up in his garage. White air cannon tube on left. Target area has blue rectangle backing. Also shown are Nikon D90 camera with a 105mm macro lens. Layers of think foam on right absorb the pellets or marbles fired.
Based in Camarillo, California, the 56-year-old is a microwave engineer by day, but pursues his hobby in his garage in the evening. Getting the shots is all in the timing. Alan opens the shutter on his camera on a one second exposure with one hand, while firing the rifle or air cannon with the other. A powerful flash is triggered when the projectile passes through a laser beam. His set-up allows him the option to not only fire pellets and marbles at 500ft per second, but also items such as Christmas ornaments filled with coloured gelatine. Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
Marble fired through Philadelphia cheese
Marble fired through Philadelphia cheese Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A pellet fired through staples
A pellet fired through staples Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
An apple is demolished with firecrackers
An apple is demolished with firecrackers Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A marble is fired through an egg
A marble is fired through an egg Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
Three ice lollies arranged in a row are hit by a small marble at high speed
Three ice lollies arranged in a row are hit by a small marble at high speed Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
Crayons are demolished with firecrackers
Crayons are demolished with firecrackers Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A marble fired through a Christmas bulb filled with red gelatin
A marble fired through a Christmas bulb filled with red gelatin Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A Pepsi can filled with red dye and water is hit by a pellet
A Pepsi can filled with red dye and water is hit by a pellet Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A marble fired through a cherry pie
A marble fired through a cherry pie Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
An ice cream cone is hit by a marble
An ice cream cone is hit by a marble Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A marble is fired through a chocolate cup cake
A marble is fired through a chocolate cupcake Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
A green tomato is hit with a pellet while water is poured onto it
A green tomato is hit with a pellet while water is poured onto it Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features
Alan Sailer in his garage studio
Alan Sailer in his garage studio Credit: Alan Sailer / Rex Features