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I have been asked how I managed to take the gallery photograph the balloon bursting. I would like to say that it was through the use of some very high-tech equipment...

....but my parents brought me up to always tell the truth

The setup for the shot was simple - the balloon was suspended by a length of string from the roof of my studio (well, my garage anyway!). A few feet behind the balloon was a black cloth, and vitally importantly - there was a bucket below the shot.

What you cannot see in the shot is that there is a length of two core speaker wire running down the back of the balloon. The ends of the wire were bared and almost touching, and was held in place with sticky tape. The other end of the wire was connected to the flash gun, not the camera.

To take the shot, I turned all of the lights out, opened the camera shutter, and threw a dart at the balloon. The theory is simple - dart hits balloon, balloon bursts, as balloon contracts the wires touch and fire the flash. It's easy!!

Hope this helps


Simon

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Simon Coates
www.wildsnaps.com

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