We experimentally investigate the generation and propagation of elastic waves in gelatin occurring during the collapse of laser induced bubbles. Sub-millimeter sized bubbles are generated with a pulsed 6ns laser within the tissue mimicking material. The stress fields and wave propagation is visualized with elastography, a method where the polarity of a polarized light is altered by the state of stress of the medium. High-speed photography captures the fast dynamics of the bubbles and is used to describe the succession of events leading to the wave emission. 4 configurations of bubble collapse are studied; spherical and non-spherical collapses in the bulk, collapse near a wall and collapse near a free surface.