An iconic image snapped by a New York Times photojournalist at former President Donald Trump’s rally over the weekend raised questions online about his use of an exceptionally high shutter speed during the event.
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning NYT photographer Doug Mills, formerly with the Associated Press, was right up front at the campaign event in Butler, Penn., Saturday when a gunman opened fire on Trump, grazing his head with a bullet that struck the former president’s right upper ear lobe.
Doug Mills, a New York Times photographer, appeared to capture an image of a bullet streaking past Donald Trump’s head, a former FBI agent said. He took the photo while documenting the rally that turned into an attempt on a former president’s life. https://t.co/nhtORaXDZj pic.twitter.com/32UI1GDcoO
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 14, 2024
Amidst the chaos, Mills managed to capture a once-in-a-lifetime photo in the milliseconds after the first shot was fired, snapping the moment a bullet intended to kill Trump instead whizzed by his head.
Mills discussed the iconic photo in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlin Collins:
.@dougmillsnyt on how he captured that unforgettable shot of a bullet flying past Donald Trump’s head, while only feet away from the attempted assassination. pic.twitter.com/3kOBdOQshn
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 15, 2024
“I was trying to put him between the flag and the podium and photographing there and when he kind of gestured to his right I heard the pops… and then when I saw him grab his ear he kind of winced and immediately went down, I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s been shot,” Mills told Collins.
He also spoke about the day’s events with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell:
Mills told Mitchell about the camera settings he used to take the iconic photo, later also revealed by The Times:
Mr. Mills was using a Sony digital camera capable of capturing images at up to 30 frames per second. He took these photos with a shutter speed of 1/8,000th of a second — extremely fast by industry standards.
Fast shutter speeds are typically used to freeze extremely fast motion and capture sharp images without blur.
This would be the perfect setting to capture, say, a subject’s “head exploding,” wrote combat correspondent Michael Yon on X.
Bullet Trace, and interesting matters
It’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…
— Michael Yon: Callsign BIG HONEY 6 (@Michael_Yon) July 16, 2024
“Those are settings I would choose if I were trying to catch extremely fast action. Such as a head exploding,” Yon wrote on X, adding, “Am not suggesting anything at all. Just as a war correspondent…I never cranked shutter that high even for anything. I wanted to keep ISO lower. Other professionals choose other settings.”
Yon elaborated in a subsequent video:
On Photo Fraud, Highly Capable Pro Cameras, 1/8000s, face-locking, Work/Data flow from the field, Incredible value of incredible photos#OperationBurningEdge pic.twitter.com/703zbE1deY
— Michael Yon: Callsign BIG HONEY 6 (@Michael_Yon) July 18, 2024
Likewise, another professional photographer voiced questions online about the unusually high shutter speed.
“It is VERY UNUSUAL for a photographer to use 1/8000 shutter speed @ 30 FPS in broad daylight,” commented X user @TPV_John.
I have done Photography as well…
It is VERY UNUSUAL for a photographer to use 1/8000 shutter speed @ 30 FPS in broad daylight.
UNLESS you are INTENTIONALLY trying to CLEARLY capture something happening VERY FAST.
Like a BULLET blowing someone’s head clean off their shoulders… https://t.co/rPuhexVlJT pic.twitter.com/VUXJTSaXKm
— The Patriot Voice (@TPV_John) July 18, 2024
“UNLESS you are INTENTIONALLY trying to CLEARLY capture something happening VERY FAST.”
“Like a BULLET blowing someone’s head clean off their shoulders in GREAT DETAIL.”
@TPV_John went on to allege the photo proves Mills “KNEW something was going to happen,” claiming, “otherwise there would be NO reason to have camera settings in this configuration in these conditions.”
The post triggered X’s Community Notes fact-check feature, which noted that: “Shutter speed is not just used to capture fast objects. It is also used to turn down the brightness. Since this photo was in full sun, it is common to have a high shutter speed.”
Replying to the user, another photographer claimed, “I’ve done a lot of photography. The only time I’ve ever needed to use 1/8000, ironically, is when I was trying to capture a bullet.”
I’ve done a lot of photography. The only time I’ve ever needed to use 1/8000, ironically, is when I was trying to capture a bullet. Do we know he was using 1/8000?
— Otto Braun (@OttoBraun1976) July 18, 2024
The strange photo adds to a body of peculiarities surrounding the events of July 13, with many speculating the attempt could have been a Deep State hit job gone awry meant to take out the leader of the MAGA movement.
Mills’ previous work also includes being among a group of photographers that snapped iconic photos of former President George W. Bush when he was reading to youngsters at a school just as he learned the 9/11 attacks took place.
Doug Mills, who took the “one in a million” bullet picture, is the same guy who just happened to be on hand to catch the iconic moment Bush learned about 9/11. Huh. pic.twitter.com/pe2d4M7Ovg
— foundring
(@foundring1) July 18, 2024
Mills did not respond to Infowars’ request for comment as of writing.
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