You could say Zohaib Anjum is a bit of a modern day Benjamin Franklin.
While one of the American Founding Fathers tried to capture lightning in bottle, the Dubai photographer has undertaken his own difficult feat - capturing the moment lightning hit the world's tallest building.
As the storm worsened on Friday, Mr Anjum rushed to pack his camera bag. Born and raised in the emirate, the Pakistani drove to his go-to spot under a fly-over near Dubai's Ras Al Khor Sanctuary.
“I used to come here often to capture the shot but there was always some problem. Sometimes the lightning would fall on one side of the tower and sometimes on the other side," Mr Anjum said.
"It would never hit [the] Burj Khalifa."
Mr Anjum, who works as a photographer at a real-estate company in Dubai, has spent seven years waiting for the perfect shot.
In the past, he had spent whole nights camping out with his camera whenever it rained in the emirate.
But on that Friday, he was not only lucky but had also done his home-work.
“The weather apps alerted us that a massive storm was going to hit several parts of Dubai. So, I had already checked the direction of the storm. Basically, it was coming from the coastal area, from behind [Burj Khalifa] … I knew the storm would pass over the Dubai skyline,” Mr Anjum said.
“Immediately after I captured the shot, I bowed on the ground, thanking God."
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Snow falls on Jebel Jais
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It was cold enough for a group of 4x4 enthusiasts to build this snowman on Jebel Jais - a rare sight in the Emirates. Courtesy: Ahmed Al Bedwawi -
A blizzard brought temperatures down to zero celsius -
Ahmed Al Bedwawi captured this footage from a drone high above snow-topped Jebel Jais -
Ahmed Al Bedwawi captured this footage from a drone high above snow-topped Jebel Jais -
A driver contends with blizzards as a blanket of snow covers the ground on Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah
