Man unknowingly took one in a million picture and didn't realise till days after

One man snapped what he thought was just a simple scenic photo, only to later realise he had captured a once-in-a-lifetime shot.

Aside from the stunning new iPhone 16, if you’ve got an iPhone from the last few years, you’re carrying around a camera that would’ve blown people’s minds just a couple of decades ago.

But sometimes, with the hundreds of photos we take, we don’t even realise what we’ve else captured until we look back at our photos days - or even years - later.

That's exactly what happened to hiker Gavin Best who was out on a walk in Cavehill, Belfast, Ireland on New Year's Eve. Best casually snapped a few photos of the beautiful scenery and thought nothing more of it at the time.

At first glance, Gavin's photo shows a grassy hill with a rocky crag in the distance, under a dramatic skyline. You can vaguely make out that something is floating over towards the right side, if you look closely enough.

X/@bestgav

When he zoomed in, he noticed a tiny detail that turned it into a one-in-a-million shot.

Tucked away in the scenery was a person in mid-air in a perfect star jump right at the peak of the hill.

Talk about perfect timing!

Smartphone cameras nowadays have made it easier to zoom into photos without losing too much quality in the shot.

"When I looked at the pictures on my phone afterward, I didn't notice anything unusual,! Best explained.

"It was only a few days later, when I was going through the photos on my computer, that I noticed something there and zoomed in."

Some people are wondering whether the jumper had noticed Best taking the photo and decided to photobomb - or if he was just having a bit of fun on his own.

X/@bestgav

However, the avid hiker has assured that he hadn’t seen anyone in that area at the time when the photo was taken.

Either way, the result is still pretty cool.

Blown away by his lucky shot, Best shared it on Twitter in 2018, before Elon Musk rebranded the platform to X in July 2023.

"Took this photo a few days ago. Just spotted something in the distance and zoomed in. How's that for coincidental timing?" Best captioned the photo.

The photographer added: "I posted the photo on Twitter because I thought it was a bit special and worth sharing."

If you wanted a reason to dig through your photos in hopes of finding a gem, this is it!