Ignition...

Safety match heads are coated in iron phosphide known as ferrophosphorus and are labeled as such because they are meant to only ignite on the strike plate of the box. In this case, the match was heated from underneath with another match, causing this violent micro explosion.


Shooting info:
- 21mm extension tube on the 50mm lens
- camera on tripod, set to multiple frame rapid fire mode
- halogen shoplight positioned at very close range to provide enough light
- match head clamped and positioned about two inches from the lens
- fourteen sequences of multiple shots required to capture this
- the EXIF data doesn't show the presence of the extension tube, but I just noticed that it also doesn't show the correct shutter speed, which was 1/8000 sec, hence the necessity for the shoplight