An artist has taken a whole new look at a flower’s beauty…by blowing it to pieces. Photographer Martin Kilmas has made lots of things explode before: ceramic figurines, vases, and globs of paint to name a few. But his most recent work may be the world’s first look at how flower blossoms appear the moment they’re hit by a cannon.

Kilmas first dips his unfortunate flowers into liquid nitrogen, freezing them solid. He then blasts them with an air cannon. The ensuing split second is then caught on camera and the resulting photographs are a breathtaking look at beauty, exploded.

Kilmas told Wired that he gets his inspiration from reading old scientific journals: ‘I try to extract the poetic aspects of these scientific techniques. And generate powerful images by redoing these experiments using modern photography equipment and professional lightning.’ Continue reading »