High-speed photography has the great advantage of giving direct visual information about transient processes. For this reason, it is finding increasing application for solving a range of industrial and scientific problems. This article reviews the techniques of high-speed photography and describes a range of applications. There are various types of high-speed camera which can operate in different speed, or framing rate, ranges. These are discussed in terms of increasing framing rate in frames per second (f.p.s.) which illustrates the techniques and also the historical development of the subject. The applications illustrated include studies of fracture, impact, erosion, explosive initiation and laser-induced damage.