The photo of seven surviving Australian prime ministers, past and present, took less than a minute to shoot, but within a couple of hours Dan Himbrechts realised he had produced something significant.
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The AAP photographer's picture was hastily assembled as crowds made their way out of Gough Whitlam's state memorial service.
But so rare is such an image that Himbrechts said once he had time to reflect on the shot he thought: "Wow, this is a pretty special moment."
The photo also captured the imagination of social media, which focused on what appeared to be the careful division of political rivals – Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, Paul Keating and Bob Hawke, John Howard and Malcolm Fraser, all of them separated by a prime ministerial gap of three in the line up.
But Himbrechts said while the leaders arrived separately, the atmosphere before the photo was taken was friendly.
"They were with their partners so there was a circle of greeting," he said.
"It was very quick.
"There were some handshakes.
"Kevin Rudd briefly shook Julia Gillard's hand.
"Bob gave her a kiss."
The idea behind the photo came from Prime Minister Tony Abbott's staff.
Once Himbrechts looked at the time stamp on his final shot, only a minute had passed.
"When they said they were going to try and line up the past and present living prime ministers, I guess the cynical news photographer in me thought this probably won't happen," he said.
"It wasn't until it was over that I took a look at the photo and thought, wow, this is a pretty special moment.
"Even though it's a point and shoot style photo I think it will be one I won't forget easily."
