Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times photographer Doug Mills has caught the most insane and famous shot ever – The gun bullet on its way to Donald Trump. This is Sony’s moment with its flagship – the Alpha 1.
Catching the bullet with the Sony Alpha 1
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Doug Mills had his finger on the shutter when a gunman opened fire during former President Donald Trump’s rally. Mills, who was covering the rally for the New York Times, initially thought the noise came from a vehicle, but he quickly realized it was something much more serious. “When I saw him kind of grimace and look to his right and then grab his ear, and looked at it, I thought, and then he went down. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s been shot’,” said Mills to CBS News.
Mills has covered presidents since 1983 but never envisioned he would be witnessing an assassination attempt. “When he was ushered off the stage, I thought that was going to be the picture that, you know, he was bloodied ear, gave that fist pump. And I thought, you know, as I’m looking back at my camera, I’m sending pictures directly to The New York Times from my camera,” said Mills. Mills suddenly realized he had forgotten to send the photos taken while Trump was speaking. As he reviewed them, he noticed Trump grimacing and thought it might be the moment he was shot.
He immediately sent those images to his editor and urged her to closely examine them. Although she initially doubted it, she called back a few minutes later and let him know he had captured something bigger – an image likely to be seen in history books years from now. “I got a text and a call from her saying, You won’t believe this. We think we have a picture. You have a picture of the bullet behind his head. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh’,” Mills said. Mills then sent the raw image file to ensure all data was included. An FBI forensic expert later verified that the photo indeed showed the bullet. We isolated the bullet with a simple Instant Alpha, so you can clearly see it (Explore the featured image above). News outlets didn’t mention that, but Mils used his Sony Alpha 1 (ILCE-1) with a 24mm lens, f1.6, and an Exposure Time of 1/8,000. Watch Mills’ testimony below:
The outstanding moment of Sony’s mirrorless flagship
Many have thought that Mills utilized a camera with a global shutter sensor since it perfectly froze the bullet. However, Mills has shared the photo metadata showing the ILCE-1 which is Sony’s flagship, the Alpha 1. Indeed, this great mirrorless is equipped with a super fast readout speed reducing the rolling shutter artifacts (read: Nikon Z9 vs. Sony Alpha 1: Rolling Shutter Comparison) and thus allowing to catch the bullet. It would be interesting to explore how a global shutter camera can catch it differently. Anyway, check out Mills’ shooting angles in the crowd. He paired the Alpha 1 with a 24mm lens, and more importantly, the Exposure Time was 1/8,000. The picture was further cropped by the New York Times. Anyway, this is the Sony Alpha 1 greatest moment. The best advertisement Sony could dream of since it shows the ultra-high capabilities of the camera. Canon and Nikon would die for that shot.
