The image of the Burj Khalifa towering over Dubai is a common photo: the world's tallest building is an awe-inspiring sight when shot from many angles and locations across the city. But one photographer has gone one step further, quite literally, and captured footage of the tower all the way from another emirate. Rashid Abdulla Aziz Al Shehhi, an Emirati firefighter, climbed Yanas Mountain in Ras Al Khaimah, to get the perfect video of the Burj Khalifa, more than 100 kilometres away. “It was all planned. It had worked before when, on a clear sky, we managed to snap photos of the mountains facing the Arabian Gulf. This time, I felt like taking a photo of the Burj Khalifa from the same location and, praise Allah, succeeded,” he said. Rashid used a Nikon Coolpix P900 camera to capture the footage, which has been viewed more than 5,000 times on Instagram to date. The video features the Burj Khalifa sparkling in the sunlight, then zooms out to reveal the Ras Al Khaimah backdrop. In a straight line, the Yanas Mountain in Ras Al Khaimah is around 104 kilometres away from the Burj Khalifa, which is why it is so impressive that it could be captured on film. According to Rashid, it is imperative that the sky is clear to be able to get this footage. "I want to portray the best and most beautiful pictures of my country, as well as any other countries, be it Oman or Saudi Arabia,” the 33-year-old says. "I take photos of everything I find beautiful – the sand, the sky, the land…" Clearly, the Burj Khalifa also makes the cut. Next, he aims to capture pictures of the world’s tallest building from other emirates. The adventurer plans to scale the Jess Mountain in Ras Al Khaimah as well as Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, to see if he can take pictures and videos of the Burj Khalifa from a different angle. Although he’s never done any professional course, the Emirati has always had a passion for photography, having taken up it up as a hobby as a child, back when film had to be developed. He admits that things have changed since then. He went on to buy a Nikon Coolpix P900 camera after he saw how effective it was when someone posted footage of a moving plane from afar, using the camera, on Instagram. His advice to amateur photographers out there is to take into account the weather. "Today, photography has become everyone’s hobby," he says. "Take advantage of UAE’s winter in order to shoot the most beautiful pictures." <em>Additional reporting by Liza Ayach</em>
