April 10

Congratulations to Sandip Ray of Mobile, Ala., who submitted the top-rated image in this week’s It’s A Snap travel photo contest.

In March, Ray captured the photograph of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro while on a study-abroad trip as part of Auburn University’s Executive MBA program. Ray and more than 50 of his fellow students focused on economic factors, including energy, mining and the financial sector.

The 11-day trip took Ray to several South American destinations, including Santiago, Chile, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and, of course, Rio.

Ray recalled the cloudy and wet conditions on the day he climbed to the top of Corcovado Mountain and was able to touch the base of the Redeemer statue.

Later, he took a ropeway to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain and the skies parted. “There were cell phone towers and birds [surrounding the statue] all covered up from the clouds,” he said. “I took seven or eight snaps, but that was the only one that was perfect.”

“It was just luck that we got the light,” he added.

This was Ray’s first trip to Rio, though he said, “I can promise this won’t be the last.”