When the projectile erupted from the barrel it split a light beam which in turn activated a micro processor set to fire electronic strobes positioned above the egg. A delay of about 921 milliseconds had been programmed in the delay system so it activated the Strobotaus at the moment the bullet was shattering the egg some 25 inches from the barrel.

The brief burst of light, of three microseconds (three millionths of a second) illuminated the bullet, the hand, and the egg together. The Tokina 35-105mm lens was set on a Canon AE-1 camera with the shutter on time exposure and the aperture on f4.5. Ektachrome 200 film was used.

One of the many technical problems encountered was the actual velocity of a .22 Long Rifle projectile. Nominally this is 1100 ft/sec but even the slightest variation was critical so one of photography's oldest techniques was used: do a lot of testing.

Tension built up during the testing and when it came to the final shoot little had been done to ease that tension. Dennis Globus takes up the story:

"With everything checked, re-checked, and re- re-checked a thousand times. .. we were finally ready for the first shot. Betty casually took her place underneath a protective shield that covered her entirely except for a small opening through which she stuck her hand. Manny and Mike devised a “brace” that would hold her hand in place, preventing her from moving into the bullet’s path.

"Mike took his place behind the camera. Manny clutched the remote firing device in his fingers. And I turned out the lights.

"Mike dutifully announced, ‘Shutter's open’! And, with some effort, Manny said, ‘Ready’! And I bit my lower lip.

"We heard CRAAACK, saw a flash of light, and it was all over. Mike excitedly yelled, ‘The shutter's closed’! And I flipped on the room lights. Our eyes immediately went to what we hoped would still be Betty's hand. And there it was, totally covered with egg yolk. In fact, as we looked around the room at each other in amazement, we realized we were all covered with egg yolk. It was everywhere! I'm not sure who it was, but one of us starred to giggle. Soon, we were all looking at each other and pointing, laughing hysterically. Talk about having egg on your face . . . wow!"

(Not mentioned in this article, the lady is not actually holding the egg. The egg is fixed on a stand. A special brace was made for the lady's hand to hold it in place. Take a closer look at the picture. Only one finger is touching the egg, the rest are curled safely out of the way. And the one finger that is touching the egg is positioned below the path of the bullet.)