The Brazilian photographer who captured the lighting of Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue described the shot as “incredible” and “like a dream come true.”
Lightning struck the iconic structure last month, leaving social media users stunned.
Fernando Braga captured images and videos of the event, which have been viewed millions of times.
The Rio de Janeiro resident lives with his wife and children on a property with a direct view of the 98-foot statue.
He was determined to capture stunning time-lapse video and stills of lightning striking the sculpture, after more than 30 attempts.
‘It was amazing at first. Like a dream come true as I was trying for a long time. At that time, I expected to see some lightning around the frame, but not like this,” Braga told Yahoo News.
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Lightning struck Brazil’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue over the weekend, leaving social media users stunned after the lightning was caught on film.
‘Photography for me is just a hobby. I love spending my free time photographing,” said Braga.
‘At home, I have a very nice view of Christ the Redeemer, so I took a lot of photos of it. In sunsets, sunrise(s), with the moon, the sun, planes, helicopters, birds, etc… So I decided to make one with lightning too.’
Braga’s photo turned on social networks. She made several posts on Instagram and Twitter, but the most popular one garnered more than 171,700 likes and more than 3,200 comments on Instagram.
“I didn’t expect such a reaction, since technically, this is not a difficult photo,” he said.
He has posted several photos of lightning striking the statue, including a close-up with lightning striking the head of the statue, illuminating it like a halo.
“I am completely in awe of this…” wrote one social media user.
Another posted: ‘God has sent a message to the world!’
Braga said: “I just want to say that people trying to take lightning photos (should put their) own safety first.” She was filming at home. … Protection and safety should always be (a priority). Once you get it, give it a try! It’s really not hard to take good pictures.’
Fernando Braga captured images and videos of the event, which have been viewed millions of times.
Braga was determined to capture stunning time-lapse video and screenshots of lightning striking the sculpture, after more than 30 attempts.
The statue is visited by almost two million people each year and it is the third time in 15 years that it has suffered such an attack.
Lightning struck the head of the Art Deco-style statue of Jesus Christ on February 10, illuminating it with a flash.
Images of lightning striking the world’s largest statue of Jesus were the first posted to Twitter by a user named Massimo, who credited Braga for the image.
Braga, a self-described ‘amateur’ whose social media also shows several images of the statue in more normal conditions, also took several other photos, as well as the aforementioned video that captured the dramatic scene in its entirety.
Many users of social networks questioned whether what happened was the work of some otherworldly divine power. Others praised Braga for capturing such a visceral and temporary moment.
One user commented on how, surprisingly, this was not the first time that the statue, which was named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, had been struck by lightning, having gotten stuck twice in less than two decades, in 2008. and 2014.
“At this point, Zeus or Thor,” the user joked in one of the several posts showing the snapshots of Braga. ‘Jokes aside, this is a fairly recurring event, being the high point, it’s just lucky to have someone do the photography at the right time.’
Another praised the cameraman for his photo-taking prowess, commenting on one of his still images: ‘Wow! Thanks for sharing.’
‘It was amazing at first. Like a dream come true as I was trying for a long time. At that moment I expected to see some lightning around the frame, but not like this one,” Braga said.
Braga said: “At home, I have a very nice view of Christ the Redeemer, so I took a lot of photos of it.” In sunsets, sunrise(s), with the moon, the sun, planes, helicopters, birds, etc… So I decided to make one with lightning too’
A third joked: ‘Mom! Thor and Jesus are at it again!’ while another user simply said: ‘Wow! Oh just WOW!
Others commented on how the lightning photos appeared to be nothing short of a godly scene, and the video in particular left viewers stunned.
In the images and the media a storm arrived that wreaked havoc in Rio de Janeiro, felling trees in several neighborhoods. Fortunately, the statue was not damaged.
When the statue was struck in January 2014, the event was also caught on camera.
At that time, the officials revealed that the bold damaged the thumb of the effigy, which then had to be prepared.
the 2008 lightning strike on the structure left it unscathed.
The statue’s location, overlooking the coastal city, may be to blame for the unusual number of electrically charged incidents.
The iconic statue is the largest stone work of Jesus ever built and stands more than 2,000 feet above Rio on top of Corcovado Hill.
