Balloon Popping

[RandomConnections]

I'm surprised I haven't seen any discussion about this yet...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/755679939/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1438/755679939_052980daa7.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Purple Balloon Pop" /></a>

This is a picture of a balloon pop I took with a sound-activated flash setup. In a completely dark room, I set my camera to "bulb." I then popped the balloon. The sound of the balloon popping triggered the flash, which froze the image. I then closed the shutter, and I had my image.

There are several methods and circuits you can get to do this. Most use an SCR gate (Silicon Controlled Rectifier). Flickr photog TurboJoe (http://www.flickr.com/photos/turbojoe/) has a great schematic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/turbojoe/457105723/) and has done some excellent work with high-speed flash photography.

Not being as good of an electrical engineer as Joe, I purchased the components from HIVIZ (http://www.hiviz.com) for about $18 US. You have to assemble the kit, but it's fairly easy.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/661984735/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1099/661984735_35762f0165_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="HIVIZ circuitry" /></a>

The kit comes with wire to connect to the PC cable for an external flash. I don't have an external flash (yet), so I cannibalized a cheap disposable film camera and using instructions from Makezine (http://www.makezine.com/images/04/p102_109strobe.pdf) (link goes to PDF file) created my own external flash. I soldered two wires to the leads that fire the flash and connected them to a 1/8 inch plug so I could attach it to different trigger devices. I also added an external AA battery holder. I put the flash circuit back into the disposable camera case. I then drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom of the case and mounted it onto a mini-tripod.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/661856207/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1177/661856207_79eb45dddf_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Disposable camera with external battery case and connector" /></a>

I also put together a push-button switch (http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/661827171/in/set-72157600552692641/) so that I can trigger the flash manually. Here's what the whole setup looks like. I took this shot before I setup the disposable camera on its tripod.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/662017189/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1024/662017189_51b5af313a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Sound Activated setup" /></a>

The bowl of water was for trying to capture splashes as well as balloon pops.

I'm still experimenting. In addition to balloon pops, I'm trying splashes and any other loud sound that will trigger the flash. I haven't been brave enough to try firecrackers in my darkroom, though!

[jiminyClickit]

RandomConnections,

Always a good experience when you try new stuff (remembering your self-portrait "ghost"). And you get great shots doing it. If I can find the link, there are pages of setups and results. Will post when found. Looks like fun too.

[Dazyl]

That's just downright cool! Thanks for sharing!!

[RandomConnections]

Thanks, Jiminy and Dazyl. I know there are several Flickr groups devoted to this. I just hadn't seen anything on DPS. I looked at several techniques before deciding on the HIVIZ solution (I'm basically cheap and lazy.)

[Darren Rowse]

great stuff - got any more shots to show? I love this kind of stuff!

[Nicole]

That's great :D I love how you just used a modified disposable camera. I don't have an external flash yet either, so that's a really cool idea. I'll have to check this out in more detail next weekend :) I especially love the photos I've seen from others where they pop water balloons... It looks cool, but I bet it's messy ;)

[ryan s]

That's cool as can be...I wonder what else would work besides balloons and water...something with fire maybe...lol

Good call on the Walgreens camera too :D (I work there in Photo so I recognize them lol).

[RandomConnections]

Right now balloons are about the only thing I've been able to capture with any consistency. Here's my first test shot, where I hit the table with my screwdriver to test the sound circuit. The card table was covered with vinyl, and you can see the impact wave radiating outward...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/661651049/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1394/661651049_ddd61c4e85.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="screwdriver impact closer" /></a>

I tried copying one of TurboJoe's (http://www.flickr.com/photos/turbojoe/) shots where he dropped a soup can on a light bulb. Mine flashed before the bulb shattered, so I didn't get a shot. Here's Joe's...


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/249/457214320_6125638a6d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/turbojoe/457214320/in/set-72157594586382526)

[RandomConnections]

Ryan - the Walgreen's camera worked great! It was cheap, and the connections were very easy to identify. The Makezine article uses a Kodak disposable, but I think the Walgreen's was easier to use.

[Saralonde]

Really a cool technique. Might be a fun one to try, but I think I'll wait until the long cold days of winter when I'm stuck inside:)!

[RandomConnections]

I agree, Sara. I was stuck in the house for medical reasons for awhile and about to go crazy that I couldn't get out and shoot. This seemed like a good time to give the technique a try.

[ryan s]

I agree, Sara. I was stuck in the house for medical reasons for awhile and about to go crazy that I couldn't get out and shoot. This seemed like a good time to give the technique a try.
Sorry to hear...hopefully you're getting better :)

What kind of camera setting did you use (Av, P etc)? How fast were the shutter speeds? I might have to dig a camera out of our OTUC recycle box :p

[RandomConnections]

Ryan - feeling much better, thanks.

As for camera settings. You'll need a tripod and a very dark room. If you've got a remote shutter release, I recommend you use it, too

Set your camera to "bulb". With this setting, your shutter will stay open as long as you hold down the shutter release. On my Nikon D50, using my remote I can open the shutter with one click of the remote, then close it with another. I'm sure your Canon has this feature, too.

With my lens I found that f/8 - f/11 work well. If you set the aperture too high, you may lose some detail due to narrow depth of field. Any smaller, and it will be underexposed.

It's the flash that actually freezes the image. So the process is as follows...
1. Set up balloon, camera, flash, etc.
2. Turn out the lights.
3. Open the shutter on your camera with bulb setting.
4. Pop the balloon. The sound activated switch will cause the flash to go off.
5. Close your shutter.
6. Turn the lights back on.

Order is important. On a couple of shots I forgot to close the camera shutter before I turned the lights on, ruining any shot I might have had.

If you don't have a sound-activated switch, you can rig up a remote switch like this one (http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomconnections/661827171/in/set-72157600552692641/) using a momentary push-button switch from Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062545&cp=2032058.2032230.2032278&pg=2&parentPage=family). In this case you would have to push the button as you popped the balloon, and hope that your timing was right.

Hope this helps!

[Bishop]

So, what do you do with your shutter? Just make the exposure time longer? Dumb question, but I'm very intrested in the whole thing.

[RandomConnections]

Bishop - Use the manual setting on your XT. Set the aperture to about f/8, and the exposure time to Bulb. This will leave the shutter open as long as the shutter release is depressed, or until triggered by a remote.

Alternately, you could set the exposure for as long as possible - say, 30 seconds - and try to pop the balloon in that length of time.

The idea is that the shutter is open, but not capturing anything (much) in the dark room. It only captures what it "sees" during the flash.

[therumsgone]

Wow, this is really cool! Thanks for sharing the technique.

[Bishop]

Bishop - Use the manual setting on your XT. Set the aperture to about f/8, and the exposure time to Bulb. This will leave the shutter open as long as the shutter release is depressed, or until triggered by a remote.

Alternately, you could set the exposure for as long as possible - say, 30 seconds - and try to pop the balloon in that length of time.

The idea is that the shutter is open, but not capturing anything (much) in the dark room. It only captures what it "sees" during the flash.

Cant wait to try it out.

[xxpinballxx]

Love it RC.....I gotta try doing a little of this too...right now I'm stuck on trying HDR but this looks like a good winter time activity......
Thanks for posting here and if you know of any galleries on line the links would be great. I like seeing what people come up with.....always loved the impact of a golf ball shots and this is somewhat along those lines.....

[RandomConnections]

xxpinballxx - I just found a Flickr group that does high-speed photos of various types. This might give you an idea of what is possible...

http://www.flickr.com/groups/highspeed/

[ditch_azeroth]

i wonder if there's a do-it-yourself manual on how to make your own flash controller. anywho, my s3IS doesn't have a bulb function so i guess i won't be able to make this shot. there was a lightning capturing script for the firmware hack in my camera, i wonder if i can manipulate that somehow to emulate this...

[hotrocks]

i cant find the picture anymore, but i did a similar shot..i just used my camera and a flash....10,000 shutter speed, lights off....use the flash, trial and error till i got perfect timing

much harder..but very rewarding

[Pshorten]

so did the splashes work? I've just got to try this...

[Alex168]

Yeah i sux when it comes to hook things up and working with electronics and this just seems as a big hazzel for me to go down that road, i just rather sit back and check out the shots that people that knw thier whiring take :D