In this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to photograph a variety of high-speed phenomena, including balloon bursts, collisions, and splashes. You’ll find that taking such photos is actually easy to do and that the equipment required is readily available or easy to construct.

Taking high-speed photos requires a camera, a flash unit, and a trigger circuit. You’ll need to provide a camera.  The easiest camera to use is one for which you can set aperture, shutter speed, and focus manually.  The camera can be digital or film, but digital is more fun, since you can see your results immediately. Using a point-and-shoot camera or even a cell-phone camera is also possible, but the results are much less predictable since you have to “trick” the camera into capturing the photograph with acceptable exposure and sharpness.

Some photo accessories you may find helpful are a tripod and a close-up lens or lens attachment. The latter help you to get up close for splash photography.

There’s no need to bring a flash unit, as those will be available for use at the workshop. There will also be a variety of trigger circuits available.  You’ll build one of these circuits yourself (a sound trigger), and this is yours to keep. It’s included in the price of the workshop. Another useful circuit—a photogate with delay circuit—will be available in kits for purchase at the reduced price of $10 for workshop participants.

Email for Loren Winters: winters@hiviz.com