Doug Mills and the image that stopped time: What the photographer had to say about his iconic capture

Doug Mills He is no unknown name in the world of photojournalism, but last Saturday he was faced with a situation that even his decades of experience would not have anticipated. Amidst the chaos, Mills, standing a few feet away as a bullet whizzed by former President Donald Trump’s ear, was determined on his mission: capturing history in real time. Finger on the shutter, heart in throat, “I hope I get the right shot. I hope I don’t shoot myself.

Its Sony AI camera, set to shoot at 20 frames per second, recorded the trajectory of a bullet fired from a Thomas Matthew Crooks AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. The shot was immortalized as a wisp of white smoke against the blue sky next to Trump’s head. Mills, not realizing at the time the extent of his capture, continued to snap photos as the crowd panicked and Secret Service agents descended on the fallen president.

“Oh my god, you won’t believe it, you caught a flying bullet!” As she reviewed the images sent directly from Mills’ camera, her photo editor told her on the phone. “I said, ‘What?'” Mills recalled. “Then when I got my laptop and looked at them, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this!’

Since 1983, Mills has been a distinguished witness to history, first as chief photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and since 2002 as part of the staff of The New York Times. Over the years, he has been described by Donald Trump as the best at his job, calling him “my genius photographer”. But on Saturday, his mission turned dangerous, and the composure with which he faced the danger speaks volumes for his professionalism and dedication.

In that terrifying moment, Mills recalled the advice of Ron Edmonds, the famed AP photographer who captured the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. “He always told me, ‘Never wait, always move forward.’. I did the same thing yesterday.

The relationship between Trump and Mills is an interesting contrast. While Trump has repeatedly attacked the prestigious newspaper’s Mills work, calling it an “enemy of the people,” he has always shown professional respect for the photographer. During the G7 summit in Quebec in 2018, Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “He is the number one photographer in the world. Unfortunately, he works for the New York Times.

“I’ve gotten more texts and phone calls than I can count saying, ‘You’ve really captured history here Mills, be proud of what you’ve done, you’re not boring.’ “That means a lot comes from colleagues.” Mills agreed. “I’ve always thought that being lucky was more important than being good. I was incredibly lucky.”

A few meters from plants, Ivan Vucci of AP He was also in the “intermediate zone,” the area reserved for the media between the stage and the crowd. listening to the scenes, “Pop Pop Pop”, put his finger on the shutter. “I told myself, ‘Keep calm, take photos, don’t just use burst mode. This is an important moment in American history that needs to be documented and I need to get the best shot I can.‘” Woosey said.

plants And Wuchi At times, they demonstrated with their bravery that true courage in photojournalism lies not only in the capture but in the determination to continue capturing regardless of the lurking danger.