An experimental system that generates and visualizes unsteady motions in air was employed to visualize vortex developments over bluff bodies in impulsive started flow. The study presents photographic sequences of impulsive flow over circular and square cylinders for flow Reynolds number of 200. A comparison of physical and numerical visualization for impulsive flow over a flat plate at 50° angle of attack and for flow Reynolds number of 1,000 is also presented. The visualization examples reveal the details of vortex separation and subsequent developments and may be utilized as a reference to guide and economize computer visualization efforts on unsteady separated flows.