Father hails 'glimpse of hope' as he captures sun setting in shape of Australia
An Australian father-of-three has shared beautiful photos of the moment the setting sun broke through the clouds in the shape of Australia, above his home in Sydney.
The photos were taken in his backyard in Edensor Park, in the west of the city, last Tuesday, and have since been shared widely online, offering hope and optimism as the country fights coronavirus.
They were even shared by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who wrote on his Facebook page alongside the pictures: "We are all in this together Australia."
Santino Ruisi, 40, was camping in the backyard with his three sons, aged 12, seven and five, when they spotted the rays forming a recognisable shape.
He told The Standard: "The formation lasted approximately 30 seconds, then the clouds simply closed up."
Mr Ruisi, who runs an Italian biscuit company, and also works as an airbursh artist, added: "Connecting to the creative side of nature is where I’m most comfortable.
"I always study cloud formations and run the sequence through my head on how to reproduce that effect in an artwork."
He claimed to simply be in the right place, at the right time, with the photos revealing a stunning outline of Australia hanging just above the residential houses in the distance.
Mr Ruisi addedl: "By the time I got my phone out it had gone away. It changed so fast.
"I wish I could have captured it three or five seconds earlier so I could have shown that there was also a glowing ball for Tasmania."
Sharing the photos on his personal Facebook page, he wrote: "The rays were captivating, the glow was mesmerising, A glimpse of hope among troubled times."
At the time of writing, his sunset photos have been shared over 24,000 times.
Mr Ruisi told The Standard: "I didn’t expect the post to go viral with over 20k shares in only a few days.
"It was quite surreal to have the Prime Minister of Australia, share and comment directly tagging me in his post. I was sitting at the table with my family having dinner when I had to say to them, 'keep it down please, I’m replying to the Prime Minister'
"I've had hundreds of random people going out of their way to write to me, thanking me for sharing the images, and explaining how it has helped them in some small way."
Currently, Australia is attempting to flatten the curve of coronavirus; there have been over 6000 confirmed cases, and 50 people have died.
Mr Ruisi added: "I believe as humans we draw hope from sources like religion or nature to lift our spirits in times of despair or need. Signs like this one give you something to look forward to"
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