Breaking Out The ‘Big” Guns
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I grabbed the shot above from the bridge wing of the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) while she was conducting a 5-inch gunnery exercise at sea. Capturing the projectile leaving the barrel is not an exact science, but it’s not all luck either.
Because someone standing on the bridge wing really has no idea when the operator that is firing the gun actually pushes the button, it’s very helpful to know when it’s about to fire. Given my experience, I’m fortunate enough to know exactly when that point is. I listen to the sounds of the upper hoist bringing the round into the cradle and from that point I let my shutter release fly. The bit of luck comes in that my shutter opens and closes at the exact moment that the gun has fired and the projectile begins to escape the cloud of smoke and gas that is forcing it out of the barrel.
Out of probably 200 or so frames that I shot during the exercise, I got three whole pictures that were useable. Had I not known about how the gun operates, I might have gotten less – if any at all.
In the photo above, you can see the projectile a little further out of the barrel as it’s headed out of my frame. It’s a hard thing to capture unless you’re getting to shoot this kind of stuff all the time. Fast shutter speeds prevail, for sure.
Hearing protection while doing this kind of work is a must, and even if you know it’s about to fire – you never quite get used to that concussion caused by the immense firepower of the 5-inch gun. Hold your camera tightly!
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