Long Shot

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.  When Australian couple Philo Botros and Monica Gaid decided to get engaged, they brought a photographer with them to Sydney Harbour to capture the magic moment forever.  Best laid plans and all that.  Unfortunately at the very moment Mr Botros went down on one knee to pop the question to Ms Gaid, the photographer tripped and fell into the water.  The couple thought the chance to record the moment on film had gone.  Not so fast.  Little did they know, the sound of the photographer hitting the water caught the attention of a Mr Rob Lau, an amateur photographer from the US who was in the country on a business trip.  Speaking to the BBC, Mr Lau, who happened to be nearby taking pictures of the sunset, picks up the story, “At that moment I saw a guy get down on his knees getting ready to propose, and I quickly pivoted my tripod and snapped a few shots,” he said.  And they weren’t any old snaps.  He managed to capture the couple’s silhouette against the romantic background of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.  Back home in California, Mr Lau showed the photo to a friend who thought he would have a crack at tracking down the mystery couple in the picture.  Two days after sharing it on social media platform Reddit, Ms Gaid got in touch. “I had no idea this photo even existed, until my friend saw it on Facebook.  It was just not expected in any way, and now we have this amazing, literally one-of-a-kind photo,” she told the BBC.  “It’s so lovely to know there are good people out there, happy to go through with all that effort for the sake of doing something good and getting nothing in return,” she said.  It sure is Ms Gaid or should that be Mrs Botros-to-be?