Photographer scales Dubai’s Burj Khalifa to capture the vertigo-

inducing view from the very tip of the world’s tallest structure

• The Burj Khalifa stands 2,722ft over the city of Dubai
• It has been the world’s tallest building since 2010

Joe McNally ascended more than half a mile to the very tip of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest manmade structure, to capture the breathtaking view from the top.

And not content with shooting a set of photos that will have the world gripping its swivel chairs, he has also published a vertigo-inducing behind-the-scenes video on YouTube showing how he did i

Mr McNally, a photographer with 26 years’ experience shooting for National Geographic, had been visiting Dubai to teach at a special photography event in the city state.

He was given access to the 2,722ft Burj Khalifa after three years in correspondence with the building’s administrator.

 

The route to the top starts at 5am in a service lift that runs right up the spine of the building to level 160, the very last concrete floor in the towering structure.

After that, accompanied by two of the building’s maintenance workers, Mr McNally climbed a series of zig-zagging metal staircases up several more floors until they reached a final ladder.

‘Just physically climbing you’re talking about going straight up for a couple of hundred metres,’ the photographer said.

‘You’re safety harnessed to the ladder. It’s kind of a ratchet system where you can actually lean back and rest when you need to.

‘And that just is a straight ladder right up to the very top. It’s a lengthy climb and it’s physically daunting task..

At the top of the building the workers helped Mr McNally ease himself out onto the side of the Burj Khalifa’s spire, where he hung from safety ropes above a drop of more than half a mile.

There he also photographed the two men who helped him reach the record-breaking point.

‘You don’t want to go to the top of this tower and just take a snap looking down,’ he said. ‘You want to have a reference point, you want sense of humanity in the midst of this giant structure.’

source::::mailonline.com

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