View from the top of the world: Passenger jet pilot's jaw-dropping photographs

 

Những hình ãnh bao quát, cao thanh thoát, cũa mè xừ Karim Nafani: một Phi Công hàng không dân sự khi bay trên không phận Dubai ỡ cao độ 35,000 ft.

View from the top of the world: Passenger jet pilot's jaw-dropping photographs stunning vistas... taken from his cockpit at 35,000 ft

• They were taken by Karim Nafani, a commercial airline pilot and photographer based in Dubai
• He began the project to document his daily routine through a series of stunning photographs from 35,000 feet
• He says, 'I take you far away from skyscrapers this time to somewhere much higher: welcome to my daily office!'
• Gives pictures ethereal glow by setting camera to take three images at different exposures which he then combines

By Matt Blake

PUBLISHED:13:07 GMT, 14 June 2013| UPDATED:16:17 GMT, 14 June 2013

 

Stunning view: Dubai-based Karim Nafani sees more than just a few trees and an open space from his desk at work... he gets to see the whole world in shimmering panorama 

Panorama: This photograph is of a 1st officer enjoying the sunrise at 37,000 feet above sea level en route to Chittagong Bangladesh

Into the light: He says he began the project in a bid to document his daily routine through a series of stunning photographs that reveal exactly what it is like for pilots at 35,000 feet

The only trouble is, when it gets a bit stuffy, he can't open the window as any normal office worker would.

He said: 'I take you far away from skyscrapers and high rise building roof tops this time to somewhere much higher: welcome to my daily office!'

He gives the images their ethereal look through a technique called 'exposure bracketing' which involves setting up a DSLR camera to take at least three shots, each at a different exposure, before combining them to create the final print.

Great view: Karim usually has to be behind the camera to take pictures of the cockpit but here he turned the camera on himself

Motherboard: Apart from the beautiful views that confront Karim each day he takes to the skies, his pictures also remind viewers of the incredible array of levers, panels and buttons that cover almost every inch of an aircraft's cockpit

Hometown: Karim took this picture as he flew over his hometown Dubai

The result looks more like an oil painting on canvas than a real-time digital photograph.

Apart from the beautiful views that confront Karim each day he takes to the skies, his pictures also remind viewers of the incredible array of levers, panels and buttons that cover almost every inch of an aircraft's cockpit.

And, of course, he knows his way around them just as well as he does around those on his digital SLR camera.

But Karim's portfolio doesn't end inside his cockpit.

As a pilot he says he developed a keen interest in how the world looks from above.

So he went about climbing to the top of buildings and skyscrapers to picture cities from above.

Branching out: But Karim's portfolio doesn't end inside his cockpit

'Close up': This is an aerial view of the artificial Palm Islands in Dubai

On top of the world: Karim often uses a fish eye lens to bend the horizon beyond its natural curve

A view from a bridge: But very rarely, Karim likes to take pictures from underthings rather than over them

Moody: Karim's braketted exposure technique gives many of his cityscapes a dark edge, almost as if taken from a post-apocalyptic comic book

Rings and roundabouts: One of Karim's favourite times to photograph Dubai is at night when the city lights up in a kaleidoscope of colour

Marina-nother world: As a pilot he says he developed a keen interest in how the world looks from above.

Dusk or dawn? So he went about climbing to the top of buildings and skyscrapers to picture cities from above

Menacing: Karim paints a picture of a world without limits

Tallest in the world: Dubai has a skyline that is not only one of the world's most iconic but also the tallest

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