Taking a photograph is not always a point and click thing. This article explains some extreme photography methods and demonstrates how extreme photography creates amazing pictures.
High Speed photography
High speed photography uses several methods to shoot an object during a very short period of time. It is usually used to capture fast moving objects such as ballistic activity, water drops etc.
High speed film cameras - Better film material and camera design allow the cameras to shoot faster and advance the film faster.
Rotary prism - The film moves past a rotating prism which is synchronized to the main film sprocket. Each revolution of the prism "paints" a number of frames onto the film as there are faces on the prism.
Rotary mirror - A mirror rotated at high speeds combined with a shutter shoots the image on a still film. Allows small number of images at a very fast rate.
Examples of High speed photography
Stroboscopic photography
The Stroboscopic technique is based on using a flash strobe which is fired for a very small period of time. The camera shutter itself stays open for longer time, but since the area is dark, the image which is captured on the camera film or sensor, is the frozen moment when the strobe fired. Stroboscopic photography is used to show the steps of a moving process over time. This is done by flashing the stroboscope continuously in a fixed frequency while the action is taking place. If the action or the film move, the result is a series of pictures showing the state of the process over time.
Basketball
Synchroballistic photography
The problem with shooting fast moving objects is synchronizing the camera to shoot at the right time as well as allowing exposure to a very small amount of time in order to get as little distortion as possible. Since the object is moving very fast, opening the shutter or flashing a strobe to create short exposure is not a good option.
Using the Synchroballistic photography method, the problems are reduced by using an open slit. The film or sensor moves moves below the slit at a calculated speed which renders the image on it while the fast moving object moves above it. The optical and relative distance of the film and object from the slit makes it possible to move the film much slower than the object while still getting the correct proportions.
Let's see some examples:
Schlieren photography
Schlieren photography is used to photograph the flow of air or fluid around objects. The basic system uses light from a single source shining on, or behind, a target object. If the fluid flow is uniform the image will be steady, but any turbulance will cause scintillation, the shimmering effect that can be seen on hot surfaces on a sunny day.
