Freezing Time: 80 Inspiring Examples of High Speed Photography
In our last roundup, we covered a selection of amazing HDR images. This time we move onto something completly different, with stunning high speed photography. These images freeze time, and allow us to observe scenes that the naked eye would struggle to capture. It’s definitely worth a look for some great inspiration!
What is a High Speed Photo?
A high speed photo is a image captured at an amazingly quick shutter speed. These images capture scenes which are often too quick for the eye to have seen. This phenomena makes them very popular, and leads to photographers spending countless hours trying to get the perfect image.
You can shoot a high speed photo using almost any SLR camera, though more expensive cameras can often reach faster shutter speeds. Budget and compact cameras are likely to struggle with capturing action at such a fast speed.
GCGuy
This is one busy guy. Uploading photos constantly, GCGuy produces high speed photography, HDRs, portaits and more! Check out his Flickr account and I am sure you will be just as shocked as I was!
Each photo here was taken with a shutter speed of 1/10000th or faster.
Bernie Sumption
It seems that Bernie Sumption loves just getting out his SLR and having some fun! His images show crazy and fun scenes that most professional photographers miss.
Hélène Desplechin (Hel Des)
I came across this user’s Flickr page countless times when looking for images and I can understand why! Here you will find a collection of outstanding high speed photos.
Johnny Chung Lee
Johnny Lee produces dynamic open-minded artistic photography for professional, commercial, personal, or creative purposes. He claims he is always up for a creative challenge and looks like he has great fun doing it!
Starmag
Starmag has a small collection of fruit dropping into water, I was amazed at the lighting on each shot and thought he deserves a place in this list. Each photo here was taken at 1/8000th at f10.
Check out his Flickr account for the various other photos he has taken.
Alan Sailer
Looking at Alan Sailer’s photography illustrates a very common theme – bullets. Alan seems to have shot (in both ways!) everything from fruit to slowglobes.
Look carefully at each picture and you normally see the bullet or fragments splitting.
Kaitlyn Grenier (Star-buck)
Kaitlyn seems to always be in the right place with her trusty Canon 5D. She has a amazing gallery built of quite a few hundred photographs.
Maxedaperture
He sums himself up as just a regular guy who likes shooting photos, and some pretty amazing shots at that. The thing I like most about the photos is that they are a lot more natural and come from everyday situations.
Random pictures
Here are few high speed spots by random photographers, simply click the photo to find more about the photographer.
Thanks For Reading!
I hope you’ve found these high speed images inspiring, and feel the urge to get out your SLR and have a go. I know I certainly did!
If you have any suggestions or ideas for more roundup articles, please post them below or contact me via my website.
Enjoyed this Post?
Subscribe to our RSS Feed, Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!
By Peter Sawyer
How to Take Great Photos
Whether you've got a simple point-and-shoot, or a professional camera, you'll learn the basics of what every photographer needs to know to make their shots count!
Join our newsletter!
U-Design WordPress Theme only $35.00 
Modernize - Flexibility of W ... only $35.00 
Tinkerbell portrait retouching - More
Photo Basix
Just getting started? Start with our basix tutorials on the fundamentals. View All Basix Tutorials
Create a Tutorial, Get Paid!
Have something to teach the world? Want to earn money doing it? Tutorials, screencasts, and articles published here on Phototuts+ are largely contributed by readers just like you! We'll pay you great money for good content. Find Out More
Pretty cool stuff, got to try some myself.
beautiful pictures !
gettin this kinda shots always are a big satisfaction! no too hard to get! but realy long to find the right moment to press the camera!
amazing shots here! really!
better than HDR article!
tks for sharing!
love the shots!!!!
great stuff
Thanks!!!
Cool!
Inspirational
I always saw examples @ Stock Photo sites, great work
Cool! Check also this one:
http://www.richallenphotography.com/
Great article. Some amazing photos here but a couple of lame ones.
I saw this the other day:
http://xml1.deviantart.com/art/Strawberry-Splash-130050585
The coke bottles seem to be renders
yeah, looking back at the flicker it is a puzzling one.
But JPMemoria the owner of the image is a photographer and has no other 3d renders so I still belive it is a photo.
It is in the “High speed photography” collection on photography so I think it is just a very well lit perfect photo.
PS: If anyone else finds it to be a render please let me know (I am not 100% sure)
Hey Peter,
Do you know what kind of lighting that they have set for these shots? With such high shutter speeds light becomes an issue. A regular Flash probably will not work, will it? (at least for those shots lile the beer can or the crayons)
Nice share by the way, thanks.
Often you need to have a fast flash gun on either side for example pictured here: http://phototuts.s3.amazonaws.com/023_shutterroundup/66.jpg
I would crank the ISO up to around 800 if I were you as this will allow for more light without being too grainy.
Though Shooting planes and birds should be fine if you are in a nice sunny environment.
I have found a brillant article/tutorial on the subject here: http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_high_speed_photography_at_home
^ Thats properly what you were after but just in case………
I found this info on the internet which might be some use to you:
“fhein says:
September 23, 2009 at 12:29 am
You don’t need a special camera. Here’s how you do it:
1) Mount gun somewhere and point it at something
2) Build a device that closes a circuit when it hears a sound, and also adds an adjustable delay (it’s really simple, just google)
3) Connect the device to a flashgun
4) Turn off the lights in the room
5) Set your camera shutter speed to something like 10 seconds
6) Adjust the delay so the flash fires when the bullet is in front of the camera
7) Profit!”
Hope this helps
Peter.
Great photographs.
Too bad they all seem to like to spoil beer :p
Look closly – most of the beer ones seem to have clear liquid. A few still have the caps on though.
Seems that they have been drunk and filled with water!
Beer is too good to waste.
Some good pics. I tried it last year: http://tartanrocker.de/zerstorungswut-2/ and wrote a popular (in GER) tutorial: http://tartanrocker.de/tutorial-einstieg-in-die-highspeedfotografie/ have a look at the making-of-picture
I think you meant 1/1000th and not 1/10000th in the first one. The EOS 50D has a 1/8000 max shutter speed.
And c’mon, Maxedaperture’s photos have nothing of high-speed in them. 1/125 would’ve frozen that.
I will be honest I have simplfied it quite alot.
The idea behind it is that the flash is at 1/10000th of a second…. the shutter can be at much lower than this.
But in a pitch black room and set up propley with a closed circuit device you should in thery get a picture which is 1/10000th of a second.
Hope this helps.
Google it for more info!
cool effects.. awesome, i say… thanks for sharing
amazing…some of these are mind blowing..actually not just some..ALL OF THEM!!!
Why would you do that to a Busch?
Alan Sailer uses pellets, not bullets. Pellets are shot with an air rifle, far more slow than bullets, thus easier to take a pic of them
Great photos! Loved the high jumps by people! The dancer and the skateboarder and that guy flying through the air! Amazing.
beautiful, … so beautiful.
I am not very happy to see this…Most of the photographs depict destruction – punching, breaking, firing, kicking, thrashing…etc. Is high speed photography all about capturing things that are ending…
I don’t see creativity here…and now I am quiet in agreement with God, that he has not provided us high speed eyes to witness so much destruction and endings everywhere…be creative people !!!
I like the pictres. I see them in the newspaper then I go to find them. I actually found the Alan Sailer’s pictures then I found the others. That all seem very shock and beautiful in a dirrerent look and version. Finally, I really like them !!
Amazing pictures … great ..
Amazing, just amazing!
Amazing
Hi! What a great article and beautiful photos!
Thanks for featuring my work here. I’m Kaitlyn Grenier… and I need to tell you that the photograph of the bear with the fish isn’t my photo. It is by: Mercorex on Deviant Art. http://mercorex.deviantart.com/ . I’m not sure why it’s listed under my work because I’ve never claimed to have taken that photo. (I sure wish I had, though
lol it’s awesome)
Anyways….just wanted to straighten that out. He’s a wonderful artist and deserves proper credit for that photo! Thanks!
-K
*wish I had taken it. not claimed it.
Cool collection. Though, some pictures look so fake, I’m pertaining to the picture with card and a bullet.
really interesting… few days i’m going to shoot a soap splash with high speed film camera. pray for me.
Oh now i am gonna have to have a go! No shooting beer though, that’s just wrong!