Regarding the Capture Path of Bullet to Trump by Doug Mills, happends to be the same photographer that captured this moment. Some people are very lucky to capture iconic moments, I would say.
Bullet Trace, and interesting mattersIt’s nearly 0400 here in Japan.
So this is a mind-dump, sans edit:
Interesting on bullet trace — scratching my memories, I do not recall seeing any bullet trace photos from close to 90 degrees from bullet’s flight path. Am not saying it cannot be done. It probably can be done with modern cameras and high shutter speeds.
Now keep in mind I am pretty handy with weapons and with cameras. I was a Special Forces weapons specialist. As a photographer, I shot some of the most famous photos in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Substantial crossover knowledge.
My first thought was — I’d never seen a trace shot from that angle. Second thought was it should be possible. Third thought was that would be a fast shutter speed.
I was preparing to reach out to the photographer. Hunting and pecking online, I found New York Times quoting the shutter speed at 1/8000th of second.
It happens that I have sitting on table here the top three DSLRs Sony makes. The cameras most people salivate over, I have three here. Because I know how important serious gear is.
I use only the very best cameras and lenses. Top gear helped make some of the most interesting and often intense photos in two wars. Unfortunately I often broke lenses while jumping on the ground or hitting against a wall or doorway. No camera ever broke.
I use the cameras regularly though rarely publish photos from them these days. The maximum shutter speed on all three of these cameras in 1/8000.
The the New York Times photographer, Doug Mills, is quoted as shooting at 30fps 1/8000.