Purple Lightening Blast

August 17th, 2006 · No Comments

Sometimes photography is all about luck, the light, the subject the timing. You can be the best but without that spot of luck …

Now this is a lucky shot.

As the afternoon storm passed over the city, blanketing streets with ankle-deep hail, Gabriel Urbinaga snapped the bolt at the exact moment its zigzagging body struck the mast of the 22-foot sloop.

“I was … at the balcony watching the storm and as a matter of luck I took this photo. I thought [it] could be interesting for you to illustrate the big rain,” Urbinaga wrote in an email to the Herald.

When Cruising Yacht Club of Australia dock master Scott Finsten saw the photo today, he was blown away.

“Holy s—,” said Mr Finsten, who was hiding from the storm in his office. “Far out.”

After seeing the photo, he went out to investigate which boat had been hit.

“It was quite clear when I got close to it [which boat it was]. [It's] pretty impressive. I’m just next to the boat now. The top metre of the [alloy] mast is all black.