JBRIII

Shoot through jello if you want to slow things down without damaging severely the bullet. They use it on Myth busters for human substitute.

The highest speed camera for us regulars, that doesn't cost a real fortune, is made by Krontech. I know it hits 20,000 fps, maybe 30,000. Cost $5-7000 depending on configuration. Memory (32gb) costs as much as a laptop due to speed needed.

High speed flash don't remember what I have seen on that, but sincing the two would be probably as costly as doing the flash. Using a number of flash bulbs with electric timer might be possible, but as shown below, the rate of electricity flowing means even wiring issues could be problematic. Probably some amateur has done it, but might take many trys. Check on web.

Light travels 186,262 mpsecond, so at 1,000,000 fps, that's maybe .2 miles or 1000 feet, so don't be too far away or the flash won't get there in time. Same would apply to wiring in transformers, etc.

old poet

I can't even stop a hummingbird's wings.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I prefer hummingbird shots with a little wing blur, at least the tips. Those completely frozen hummingbirds look unnatural.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

You're talking about ballistic gelatin, which is NOT jello. You have to mix it and chill it, in a large enough block that the hydraulic pressures from the bullet won't make it explode, like the apple did. And bullets shot through it do NOT necessarily travel in a straight line, and so may not end up in the camera frame, although if you only use enough gelatin to slow the bullet, rather than stop it (which is the usual goal) the "accuracy" upon exiting the gelatin may be better.

tbrad57 Loc: Cottonwood, AZ

Take a look here:
https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/53450/how-can-i-capture-the-movement-of-a-bullet
https://petapixel.com/2010/08/31/the-amazing-high-speed-bullet-photography-of-alexander-augusteijn/
https://petapixel.com/2016/11/10/teaching-art-capturing-bullets-flight-classroom/

old poet

Polock

move the camera behind the apple

delder Loc: Maryland

Grew up in Aberdeen Md. [Home of US Army Ordinance]

They had a Technical Photography shop that did this sort of work.

I seem to remember the use of High Speed Electronic Strobe
[Laboratory Strobe, not a camera strobe] and FAST film to get the stop motion effect.

Tony Hayman

OK, So I have shot bullets using the Phantom High speed video camera (unless you have about $500,000 spare change you will not be buying one). So Here are my rules (1) The slower the bullet is traveling the better, most bullets break the sound barrier and once that happens you end up with a "signature" starting just behind the point of the bullet which means that it is impossible to get a sharp picture no matter what shutter speed you are using. (2) With bullets, humidity matters, (a hot muggy day in Florida means anything but a sharp picture) the lower the humidity the better (Death Valley middle of summer, 1st thing in the morning) (3) Forget about your shutter speed, use a high speed strobe (you will need to figure out a trigger mechanism) (4) at 18,000 FPS you will be able to see a bullet traveling, and exploding the tomato, you need to be shooting at about 30,000 FPS to get a clear sharp picture (all of the above taken into account)... So to conclude shooting a video of a bullet is impossible unless you have deep pockets, shooting a still photo requires a high speed about 1/1,000,000 sec powerful flash.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Probably came from the bottom of the barrel too.

Dennis

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Or put it in front of the apple and get the head on shot. Nobody’s ever done that one. 😜🤪

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

No matter the velocity the cartridge will go off and the bullet will leave the barrel. You are correct about the slide not going back enough to eject the cartridge. But who cares. The slide can be pulled back manually to eject the fired cartridge. No problem at all.

He isn't trying to hit anything with the bullet. He is trying to photograph the bullet in flight. He does not need 200 yards to do that.

As far as hitting something at 200 yards with a handgun, when I was on a USMC rifle and pistol team before going to Vietnam, one of our pilots had acquired a Smith and Wesson Model 39, 9mm handgun. As a Lieutenant he had enough horsepower to ask the rangemaster if he could shoot the pistol at the 200 yard target. He made a number of shots accurate enough to have hit a man at that distance. I have personally fired a Colt 1911-A1, in 45 ACP at 100 yards, back when my eyes could clearly see the target and have gotten 6 inch groups. By aiming at the head all shots dropped into the chest area at that distance.

My brother and I used to shoot across canyons to 200 yards at small rocks, 8-10 inches, on the other side with Smith and Wesson Chiefs Special revolvers in 2 and 3 inch barrel models, 38 Special caliber. By knowing where to aim the rocks were not that tough to hit.

You might be surprised at what handguns can do by a good shooter. Short barrels do not equate to inaccurate shooting.

Dennis

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

That is not quite Jello. It is a formulated Ballistic Gel. It is designed to stop bullets within a block of the stuff and sometimes 2-3 blocks depending on the caliber, velocity and bullet type.

Dennis

jrm21

Think different. :)

I wanted to do something similar for a project I was working on (my project was video-based, but the same concept).

My solution was Blender... open-source 3-d software. In the right hands, it can produce some very nice photo-realistic results. I watched some tutorials and generated a short video of a bullet shattering glass. My project got sidelined, so I never used the shot. Point is that I got a result for $0 investment and about an hour of working along to a video tutorial.

This doesn't apply if you just want the experience of taking a photo. If, however, you are more interested in achieving the final shot, 3D software may be something to consider. One of the best uses of that software is getting a shot that is too difficult or impossible in the real world.