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