[Skunkabilly]

Hi,

My goal is to take photos of guns in action exactly at their firing sequence. Is there a product that will take a photo a split second after hearing a gunshot?

I know the technology is there, but I wonder if there is such a product. It would be cool to take pictures with the shell just kicking out of the chamber, and not have a photographer downrange.

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Skunkabilly Records
www.skunkabilly.com
People's Republic of California

 

[garrettwc]

Skunka, if you're talkin about some of those shots like you see in the gun rags with the bullet just coming out of the muzzle trailing sparks with the puff of smoke and the action just starting to move it's not really all that high tech.

You need a good 35mm SLR camera with a fast shutter speed and flash sync and motor drive. You mount the camera on the tripod and you can either use a good on camera strobe (cheaper) or studio strobes like they have when you go to the family pictures taken.

You can do it yourself with a remote cord, but it's easier with a friend. Use a shot timer as the go signal. When it beeps you start firing the camera and your assistant fires the shot.

It's like taking pictures of lightning. It's partly trial and error and partly luck. Just practice it a little (excuse to shoot more

) and you should be able to get the shot you want.

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[Dan in Alaska]

Here is another method you might try. Work with a partner and shoot in a controlled environment, like and indoor range. One person should run a tripod mounted SLR style camera that enables you to hold the shutter open indefinately ("bulb" setting) and the other person fires the gun. When everything is set up and ready to go, shut out the lights so that it is COMPLETELY dark. Depress the shutter release, and give the signal to fire. The muzzle flash will act like a camera flash, and only last long enough to get the image where the bullet just leaves the barrel. By using this method, you don't have to worry about synchronizing the shutter release and the firing of the gun. You also don't need to buy an expensive camera with a rapid shutter speed and film advance; an inexpensive manual SLR will work fine.

I plan on trying this one of these days. Afterall, in Alaska, there is plenty of available darkness these days.

 

[TiroFijo]

Skunka, I recently did a search ("high speed photography") looking for pictures, wrote to several photographers and manufacturers, most of them were very helpful.
You can start by asking Werner Mehl (http://www.kurzzeit.com/index_e.htm , check the pictures and films!) for advice.
Buena suerte!

 

[Alleycat]

Dan in AK,

Your idea is a good one, but let me help you make it better:

Before you fire the shot, with the gun held in as repeatable a position as possible, fire a strobe (or better, strobes), then, with the lens still open and the gun NOT HAVING MOVED, fire the shot. All of this must happen in darkness for it to work, and you may have to experiment with balancing the strobe exposure with muzzle flash, but this way you'll see the whole gun and get an aligned muzzle flash 9provided you don't move the gun.

Good luck!~

Steve

 

[DANO45]

You can get an audio trigger for your strobes. By adjusting the distance of the audio trigger from the gun you can determin how for the bullet travels from the muzzel before the strobes are fired. Just leave you shutter open and turn out the lights. Let the strobes do all the work. The faster your strobes are, the less motion blur there will be. There are also triggers that use infared and laser beams. They can be set so that the strobes are fired when the bullet breaks the beam. Hope this helps.