Abu Dhabi heights

February 7, 2016January 11, 2020 / mikeosbornphoto / 18 Comments

The capital city of the United Arab Emirates is dripping with skyscrapers. Abu Dhabi feels less showy than nearby Dubai, which boasts the tallest building on the planet. Nonetheless, it’s easy to do two things here. Firstly, crane your neck upwards into the blazing sun and deep blue sky to marvel at those lofty hunks of metal and glass. Maybe it’s by design that the predominant colour palette is blue.

Secondly, you can head up to look down, and the chief spot for this is the Observation Deck at 300, some 74 storeys high. Abu Dhabi is laid out before you, including its shimmering Arabian Gulf seaboard, flecked with desert islands. It’s a high platform for people-watching, while they serve a sumptuous afternoon tea. But like all enclosed tall buildings, the photographer has the headache of reflection to deal with when he comes back down to Earth…

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Grand mosque

January 24, 2016January 11, 2020 / mikeosbornphoto / 27 Comments

This magnificent building was my main incentive for taking a trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Situated on a huge site to the north of the country’s capital, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque can accommodate 41,000 worshippers and is an opulent feat of architecture, completed in 2007.

But my visit, under the piercing blue of an Arabian Gulf sky, was less about religious observance as tourists from all over the world flocked to see this impressive complex. It’s a myriad of pillars, windows, arches and domes, while the interior is studded with gems and cut glass.

With tourists come phones, selfie sticks and iPads in a building where photography is thankfully allowed. It feels almost impossible to take an original image. But with this wealth of lines, symmetry, colour and majesty, you just have to go with your instinct and capture what enthralls your own eye.

This isn’t the end of the story with the mosque. There is even more to come…

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The Dubai collection

October 20, 2012October 7, 2020 / mikeosbornphoto / 6 Comments

This is a city that sits between the Arabian desert and the sea. It’s an ultra-modern swathe of high rise buildings and spectacles created to dazzle visitors, while there are still traditional pockets left intact. Love or loathe Dubai, it is a hugely photogenic place.

Click on the first image to launch the full size gallery

The tallest tower

September 12, 2012January 11, 2020 / mikeosbornphoto / 6 Comments

Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building, piercing the futuristic skyline of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

It’s a wondrous structure which shimmers and glitters at night across the city. It was quite a challenge to fit the entire building into a frame from quite close quarters. Crouching on the ground and some extreme tripod angles were the only answer – a sweaty job in a very sultry 35C.

This is the first image from a trip to Dubai and the Indian Ocean island country of Mauritius. Further posts inspired by captures from these travels will appear here regularly.

A taste of Oman

May 22, 2012February 24, 2021 / mikeosbornphoto / 1 Comment

Oman is a quiet corner of the Arabian peninsula. It’s nothing like brash neighbour Dubai, with its opulent high rise buildings and hotels dripping in gold. Its conservative rulers have developed the country at a quieter pace, and it feels more traditional.

The capital Muscat enthrals with its souk, fish market and vast new mosque, while the arid landscape is studded with mud-baked towns, forts and minarets. But visit the coast and you will find a crystal blue sea and the chance to relax in style.

Here are just a few shots from my visit to whet your appetite. Click first image to see gallery