Lightning Strikes Hours After Pope Resigned
Hours after
Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world by announcing he would resign at the
end of the month, a blinding shaft of lightning shot down from the
heavens and struck the rod atop the white cross on St. Peter’s Basilica
at the Vatican.
At that precise
moment, AFP photographer Filippo Monteforte – his camera already
trained on the Basilica’s cupola – pushed the button that yielded the
image above.
“I took the
picture from St. Peter’s Square while sheltered by the columns. It was
icy cold and the rain was falling in sheets. When the storm started, I
thought that lightning might strike the rod, so I decided it was worth
seeing whether – if it DID strike – I could get the shot at exactly the
right moment.” Armed with a 50mm lens, Filippo waited. And waited. More
than two hours. And then it happened. Twice.
“The first bolt
was huge and lit up the sky, but unfortunately I missed it. I had
better luck the second time, and was able to snap a couple of images of
the dome illuminated by the bolt.”
No comments:
Post a Comment