Dear Commons Community,

Fernando Braga is an amateur photographer who lives with his wife and kids in an apartment with direct view of the nearly 100-foot Christ the Redeemer monument, which portrays Jesus Christ with his arms open wide.

It was Braga’s determination as a photographer that he was able to capture a stunning time-lapse video and screenshots of lightning striking the sculpture, after more than 30 attempts.

“It was unbelievable at first. Like a dream come true, since I was trying for a long time. At that moment, I was expecting to get some lightning around the frame, but not like this one,” Braga told Yahoo News.

The Christ the Redeemer monument sits atop Mount Corcovado in Rio in the Tijuca Forest National Park, a rainforest within the city’s boundaries.

The breathtaking sight was caught during a flash storm that rocked the Brazilian coast on Feb. 10. The bolt of lightning struck the statue’s head, making it the perfect moment to capture a photo.

Notably, the Christ the Redeemer monument, the biggest representation of Jesus in the world, is more than 2,000 feet above Rio.

“Photography for me is just a hobby. I love to spend my spare time photographing,” Braga said. “At home, I have a really nice view of Christ the Redeemer, so I took a lot of photos of it. In sunsets, sunrise[s], with the moon, the sun, airplanes, helicopters, birds, etc. … So I decided to get one with lightning too.”

Incredible images!

See video below for additional photos.

Tony

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