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These stunning images were captured in the blink of an eye - literally.

Former engineer-turned-photographer Alexander Augusteijn used a high-speed camera to record the moment a gun fires a bullet straight through the heart of a falling water droplet.

The whole process took just 28 milliseconds, from the moment the gun was fired to the time the shot was taken - and the shot was perfectly engineered to make the image as precise and uniform as possible.

This image was taken by 56-year-old Dutch photographer Alexander Augusteijn. It captures the moment a bullet passes through three drops of water, filmed using different coloured lights. The image was shot using a high-speed camera and shutter that was automatically triggered when the gun was fired

Augusteijn's droplet shots are part of a range of photographs that capture bullets travelling through objects.

The 56-year-old has previously caught the moment a bullet breaks a water balloon, smashes through a lit lightbulb and destroys a stack of dice.

To take such precise shots, Augusteijn's uses a pool of water that is lit from various angles, with coloured lights used to add hues to the drops.

He begins by placing water in a time-release valve above a pool of water below.

As the drop leaves the valve it hits the pool. When this drop reaches a certain point, the gun is set to fire automatically, which in turn triggers the camera's flash and shutter.

The former engineer built the system himself and the whole process takes just 28 milliseconds from the moment the gun is fired to the time the shot is taken. As a result each shot is perfectly engineered to make the images as precise and uniform as possible. The reflection also creates a mirror effect

To take such precise shots, Augusteijn's uses a pool of water that is lit from various angles, with coloured lights used to add hues to the drops. He begins by placing water in a time-release valve above a pool of water below. As the drop leaves the valve it hits the pool

Augusteijn told Mashable that the system takes 'a few hours' to setup, but once constructed each shot is 'spot on, due to the precise level of control.'

But, despite this level of control, Augusteijn takes hundreds of images on any given experiment before selecting his favourites.

Augusteijn took up photography in 1976 and mostly shot black and white images which he developed and printed himself.

He has also captured microscopic images of crystals, from sugar to paracetamol and Vitamin C, and created images of women and animals using smoke.

More of Augusteijn's photographs can be viewed on his website.

When the drop reaches a certain point, the gun is set to fire automatically, which in turn triggers the camera's flash and shutter. Augusteijn said the system takes 'a few hours' to setup, but once constructed each shot is 'spot on, due to the precise level of control'

Despite this level of control, Augusteijn takes hundreds of images on any given experiment before selecting his favourites. The 56-year-old took up photography in 1976 and mostly shot black and white images, which he developed and printed himself. He has also captured microscopic images of crystals, from sugar to paracetamol, and created images of women and animals using smoke

Last year, slow motion film experts filmed themselves firing guns underwater for the first time to show the mini tornadoes and unusual shapes created by the weapons.

Gavin and Dan, who are known on YouTube as The Slo Mo Guys, made the video to show the differing effects that two guns created in a freezing swimming pool.

After being triggered, a tornado forms at the end of both guns for a few short seconds before the bullets sink down to the bottom of the pool and surrounding bubbles float to the surface.