Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Do it outside in a remote area, maybe on a lake or beach, where the locals won't call the cops.

Use a sound trigger -

https://plutotrigger.com/

https://www.miops.com/blogs/news/how-does-a-sound-activated-camera-trigger-work#:~:text=A%20sound%20trigger%20is%20one,that%20many%20photographers%20rely%20on.&text=In%20definition%2C%20a%20sound%20activated,is%20the%20most%20dominant%20stimulus.

Have fun, have safety at the top of your priorities, and post the results.

mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois

I'd avoid the indoor explosion - noise resonates. Find a dark night and shaded location outdoors.
Multiple rapid exposures - the fastest your camera allows, a small aperture to expand DOF, and a high ISO to permit the latter. Some experimentation will probably be needed.

jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America

Lots of motion blur.

I'd set the camera at S=1/250 (to capture some motion) and use the same signal that activated the firecracker to release the shutter, via an optocoupled adapter.

GLSmith Loc: Tampa, Fl

Research the MIOPS smart devices, used by photographers for capturing lightning, sound etc trigger

https://www.miops.com/products/smart

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

With the setup you are proposeing, you'll capture a blurry, over-exposed white blot.
--Bob

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

On my Panasonic TZ100, I could do a 4K and grab a frame.
Protect your hearing....

folkus

Outside!! Outside!! Outside!! Don’t do it inside - EVER!! Don’t be teaching dangerous practices or cavalier attitudes to this young lad - it could easily kill him ... and you.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Photographing an exploding firecracker, done successfully, would truly produce interesting results. And the process to capture it would equally interesting. But if you stop and think about it, this is an event properly captured under very controlled conditions with a high-speed video or film camera. It is something that happens violently over a small fraction of a second. Folks have devoted entire careers to learning how to do it correctly.

The earliest example that I am aware of showing both high speed and time lapse photography is an old educational film from 1957 called "Mystery of Time." It's about 30 minutes long and is available on YouTube. There are newer and much better ones available, but that one is considered a classic.

While I believe that the world has become a little too afraid of way too many things, working in close proximity to any explosion is not a good idea. The risk of the unexpected is too great, and the noise, even if this is done outside, far exceeds what is necessary to cause permanent hearing loss.

Lots of folks with proper equipment and preparation have already done this experiment and recorded it on film or video. This is a case where researching and enjoying their work is a much better choice.

sr71 Loc: In Col. Juan Seguin Land

Uhhh mate their are pictures of a bullet hitting or just after hitting an apple, darts exploding balloons, eggs being popped, how many plates will a .22 cal bullet go through, video of a .22 cal being shot through a .22 pistol barrel placed on a stand with another pistol, the list goes on. One has to take and make sure to be as safe as possible. Now standing on a railroad bridge as a train goes by is dumb, however it can be done remotely.

Rwheless Loc: Houston, TX

I think your setup depends on what you want to get; stop action of the thing coming undone, or the splash of light and light trails from the explosion, or something in between. Low tech stop action might be shooting in bursts and hope to get lucky. Light trails would be the easiest, find the right exposure and go bulb mode.

There have been a lot of suggestions to do this outside. One thing to consider along these lines is the amount of smoke and gas that are produced. If you are doing multiple tries, it could get pretty stinky in the studio.

Sounds like a fun experiment to me. I hope you try it and share the results here in the forum.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Yes, I've seen all those too since I was a kid. They did those under controlled conditions.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Leave it to NOVA or National Geographic. It has all been done before.

Polock

those little "lady finger" ones would be safe enough outside. match is slower but maybe as bright
1/1000 iso 200 either a 50mm 1.8 or a 28mm 2.8 @ 10 fps......everyone has done this, right?

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

HAVE A BACK UP TO CALL 911

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I wouldn't be surprised if photos of a firecracker exploding had already been done. However, those examples were done with really specialized equipment and the OP just has an ordinary camera and some curiosity. He's not going to spend a few thousand dollars on a specialized high speed camera.

If I had a bunch of firecrackers and a small kid, I might be tempted to try this too. (Maybe more than just 'might', and maybe the kid would be optional).

I would first want a pile of crackers large enough that I could do some experiments. Probably the first thing would be the bulb exposure to try to find an appropriate aperture. Then maybe a few bursts at as high a frame rate as the camera could do, probably with some lighting. Then I would try to cobble up something that would detect the explosion and trigger a speedlight with it. That would probably need a bulb exposure because triggering the camera would be too much time delay (although it might be worth the experiment). Maybe placing the firecracker on a metal plate supported at one side and having a wire under it. The explosion would push down the plate and make contact with the wire. That could be used to trigger the speedlight. For that you would have to know what triggers your speedlight. Is it a pulse of voltage or a contact? (Old cameras triggered a flash with a contact. I suspect the new flashes need a pulse of a few volts to do that. Might need to do some research there).

Naturally I might want to find a nice plexiglass plate to put between the firecracker and the camera for protection.

Fortunately (for me) I don't have a pile of firecrackers handy since I'm pretty busy this week.