Images of popping balloons.

The balloons are popped with a home-made blowdart made from a Q-tip and a pin.

The photographs are taken with a rig made from an Arduino microcontroller and a set of sensors and triggers.

The blowdart trips a photocell trigger as it exits the straw. That opens the camera shutter and turns off the room lights.

When the ballon pops a piezoelectric vibration sensor on the balloon sends a signal to the Arduino, which then fires the flash, closes the camera shutter, turns the room lights back on, and re-arms the system for the next shot.