Guns and roses: The photographer who literally shoots his subjects




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.

The dramatic results feature everything from flowers to fruit, as well as more unexpected items such as bacon and even snow globes.

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.

Point and shoot: A red rose in liquid nitrogen explodes on contact with a bullet in one of Alan Sailer's dramatic high-speed photographs

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. '

Explosive: 'I love most of the things I shoot, but I don't like brussels sprouts,' says Sailer, who shot the vegetable steamed and piping hot

Hot stuff: A radish feels the impact of Sailer's rifle pellet. He describes the photography process as 'beyond dangerous'

'I have a delay circuit that I can use to time the flash, so that it goes off when the pellet hits the target. The explosion is the shock of the pellet hitting the target.'

Mr Sailer, who experimented with a huge range of objects for the series, snapped everything from Bratz dolls to mushrooms in his efforts to take the most visually effective images - and in some cases liked the idea more than the result.



Of his exploding Camembert cheese, he said: 'All the time I was planning to shoot this cheese, I kept thinking of Monty Python: "Ah! We do have some Camembert, sir... It's a bit runny, sir..."



'So even though the shot is not that good, I have to publish it so I can quote Monty Python.'



Frozen in time: This strawberry was dipped in liquid nitrogen before it was shot

Say cheese: A wheel of Camembert was inspired by a Monty Python quote, reveals Sailer

The artist deemed both okra and mushrooms boring, while carrots were out of focus. One successful subject, however, was one of Hershey's chocolate 'Kisses'.

'Kisses were promising,' he said. 'It took a lot of shots to get this one. And I really hate candy, that sticky mess it leaves behind.'

Some of the most stunning photographs featured everyday objects - a radish was particularly successful, as was a wasabi peanut from a local bar.

'Water-filled things explode well, dry things just crack to pieces,' he explained. 'The term for the process is hydrostatic shock.'

But Mr Sailer, who uses a rifle for his work, admits that he doesn't like guns: 'I owned a gun once but I got rid of it. The whole process is kind of nerve-racking.'



*Harold Edgerton (1903-1990) was a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is regarded as the father of high-speed photography.

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Smokin': A rasher of bacon almost resembles a wave as the bullet hits it in Sailer's picture

Sugar rush: Sailer used his aversion to candy to stunning effect with this Hershey's 'Kiss' (left) and a hollow gumball (right)



Nut job: A wasabi peanut found in a bar proves an effective subject for high-speed photography

Shaken: A pair of snow globes, bought on sale for a dollar each, were destined for destruction in the name of art



Flash of light: A sweet red pepper is shot against a sunflower to colourful and dramatic effect

Hydrostatic shock: A plum proved a fantastic target, revealing a vibrant contrast between the purple skin and yellow flesh