‘One in a Million’ β Professional Photographer Reveals How He Captured President Trump’s ‘Flying Bullet’ Photo Using a Sony A1
A professional photographer has revealed how he captured the incredible photo (below) of what appears to be the trajectory of a bullet used in the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday June 13.
In a message on The New York Times Instagram pageThe newspaper’s veteran photographer Doug Mills revealed the camera and exact settings he used to capture the photo while standing just feet from the action.
Thanks to a screenshot of the photo’s Exif (Exchangeable image file format) data, we can see that Mills used a Sony A1 (still Sony’s flagship mirrorless camera) and shot the photo at a shutter speed of 1/8000s. This is the camera’s maximum shutter speed when using the mechanical shutter.
To achieve that speed, Mills had to shoot wide open at f/1.6 with a 24mm focal length. He also used multi-pattern metering (which determines exposure based on the entire frame, as opposed to center- or spot-based metering) and, of course, shot in manual mode for maximum control.
Photo by New York Times photographer Doug Mills shows a bullet passing just behind Trump’s head. pic.twitter.com/0ncIBC0i1vJuly 14, 2024
As Mills explained, “I happened to have my finger on the shutter and I heard the pops and just kept shooting. I didn’t know what I had captured, but when I got to my laptop I saw that bullet flying behind his head, because he’s definitely not in the frames right before or after β it’s just that one frame. I was shooting at 1/8000s β it captured that streak behind him.”
Anticipation and preparation are an important part of being a professional press photographer, as Mills added: “I’ve been covering the president for over 40 years and I always know how they come on stage and how they come off. The nearest set of stairs was to my right, so I ran over and watched him get up.”
A ‘one in a million’ photo
It is not entirely clear whether the photo above shows the bullet itself or, more likely, the vapor trail of the bullet.
In a sequel article In The New York Times, retired FBI agent and firearms expert Michael Harrigan said the photo “absolutely could show the movement of air through a projectile.” Ballistics mathematics show that a shutter speed of 1/8,000th of a second would allow the bullet to be captured under these specific conditions.
But despite the Sony A1βs fast maximum shutter speed and 30fps burst shooting mode, itβs also a very rare occurrence. Capturing a bullet in mid-air usually requires a high-speed camera, and as Harrigan explained, βcatching a bullet on a sidetrack like the one in that photo would be a one-in-a-million shot.β ββBut he also concluded that βif that doesnβt show the path of the bullet through the air, I donβt know what does.β
Some other recent examples show that it is possible to capture bullets with the best professional cameras. In 2022, Swedish photographer Goran Strand used the Nikon Z9’s maximum shutter speed of 1/32,000s and 120 fps burst mode to capture a bullet exiting a biathlon rifle.
In response to that photo, the professional photographer said Peter Russel wrote an extensive analysis of how difficult it is to get a bullet off the mark, even with the Nikon Z9. He also pointed out that longer shutter speeds (between 1/8,000 and 1/16,000 of a second) can actually increase the chances of getting the shot right (although there will be more movement in the photo, as in the photo of Trump above).
While freezing bullets in flight usually requires carefully orchestrated setups and special triggers, with the right shot and a healthy dose of luck, itβs also possible β which appears to be the case in this photo from the NYTβs Doug Mills.