‘Like a dream come true’: Photographer who took images of Christ the Redeemer being hit by lightning

The Brazilian photographer who captured lighting striking Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue has described the shot as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘like a dream come true’.

Lightning struck the iconic structure last month, leaving social media users stunned.

Rio de Janeiro resident Fernando Braga lives with his wife and kids in a property with a direct view of the 98-foot statue.

He was determined to capture a time-lapse video and photographs of lightning connecting with 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.

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Lightning struck Brazil’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue over the weekend – leaving social media users stunned after the bolt was caught on film

‘Photography for me is just a hobby. I love to spend my spare time photographing,’ Braga added. 

‘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.’

Braga’s photos sent social media users into a frenzy. He made several posts on different platforms, but the most popular one garnered more than 171,700 likes and more than 3,200 comments on Instagram.

The close-up showed lightning striking the head of the statue, illuminating it like a halo. 

‘I wasn’t expecting that much reaction, since technically, this is not a difficult kind of photo,’ Braga said.

He added: ‘I just want to say that people who try to take lightning photos [should put their] own safety first. I was shooting at home … Protection and safety should always be [a priority]. Once you get that, give it a try! It’s really not difficult to take some great shots.’ 

Fernando Braga captured both images and video footage of the occurrence, which have been viewed millions of times

Braga was determined to capturing a stunning time-lapse video and screenshots of lightning striking the sculpture, after more than 30 attempts

‘I am completely in awe of this…’ one social media user wrote. 

Another posted: ‘God has sent the world a message!!’

The statue is visited by nearly two million people every year.

The bolt struck the head of the Art Deco-style statue of Jesus Christ on February 10, illuminating it a flash. 

Images of lighting hitting the structure were first posted to Twitter by a user named Massimo, who gave credit to Braga for the picture. 

Many social media users questioned whether the occurrence was the work of some divine, otherworldly power. Others commended Braga – a self-described ‘hobbyist’ whose social media also features several pictures of the statue under more normal conditions – for capturing such a visceral, temporal moment.

One user remarked on how, shockingly, this was not the first time the statue – which was named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in 2007 – was hit by lightning, with it being stuck two times in less than two decades, in 2008 and 2014.

‘At this point Zeus or Thor,’ the user joked on one of several posts showing Braga’s snaps. ‘Jokes apart, this is a quite recurrent event, being the highest point, it’s just the luck of having someone doing photography at the right time.’ 

Another hailed the cameraman for his photo-taking prowess, commenting on one of his stills: ‘What a shot! Thanks for sharing.’

A third joked: ‘Mom! Thor and Jesus are at it again!’ while another user simply stated, ‘Wow! Oh just WOW!’

‘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 said

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’

Others remarked how the photos of the lightning appeared to be nothing less than a godly scene – with the video in particular leaving onlookers awestruck.

The images and media came a storm caused havoc in Rio de Janeiro, felling trees in several neighborhoods. The statue, thankfully, was not damaged.

When the statue was struck in January 2014, the occurrence was also caught on camera. 

At the time, officials revealed the bold damaged the effigy’s thumb, 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 amount of electrically charged incidents. 

The iconic statue stands more than 2,000 feet above Rio on top of the Corcovado mountain.