A photographer at the Trump assassination attempt “somehow” remembered to turn on his Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses to capture POV footage of the dramatic event.
Washington Post staff photographer Jabin Botsford recorded the remarkable first-person-view (FPV) video from the smart glasses showing what it was like capturing the huge, historical moment on Saturday in Pennsylvania.
The video starts with Trump taking the stage at 6.03 p.m. and then there’s another clip, filmed at 6.10 p.m., of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee starting his speech. All the while, Botsford is shooting away on his Sony a9 III.
But just three minutes later, it is carnage with President Trump lying on the ground being covered by Secret Service agents. The video continues for approximately another 45 seconds showing Trump getting up, raising his fist in the air, and then being taken off stage.
Meta Ray-Ban glasses allow users to record videos up to 60 seconds at a time.
Photographers Come in For Praise
Trump’s assassination attempt has been a big moment for photography and photographers with images of the incident going viral. The media men and women have won praise for staying calm and doing their jobs — despite being in grave danger themselves.
In a Washington Post article, Botsford explains that Trump’s team usually gives the pool of photographers about five minutes at the start of every rally to take photos.
Because the shooting took place almost immediately after the campaign speech started, the photographers were able to capture dramatic, up-close photos of the action.
“I heard the first pop, and I was like: ‘Oh, weird. Fireworks,’” Botsford tells WaPo. “It was super scary. Nobody knew what was going on. The president fell to the ground, and I was going to make a picture of it even though the staff was like, ‘You guys need to get down.’”
PetaPixel previously reported on how AP photographer Evan Vucci kept his cool to capture arguably the most iconic photo from Saturday’s events.
“I just kept telling myself: ‘Slow down, think, compose. Slow down, think, compose’,” Vucci says.
Image credits: via The Washington Post.