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It is an astonishing image of a unique city. This incredible panoramic image was taken 828 metres above sea level, from the top of the tallest building on earth, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. Composed of over 70 individual photos, it recreates the view Tom Cruise made famous as he sat at the tower's peak during the filming of Mission Impossible Four, 'Ghost Protocol'. It takes in Dubai's many landmarks, including the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, the world's biggest mall, the Dubai Mall and the Meydan Racecourse and shows the remarkable growth of a city still on a fast track to developing as a business hub and tourist destination. Dubai based photographer Gerald Donovan created the shot using a mechanised panoramic tripod head to take a series of 48 panoramic images, each shot at a resolution of 80 megapixels. Mr Donovan was given access to the top of the Burj Khalifa, developed by global property developer Emaar Properties. It is over 200 metres above the highest point reached by the building's elevators, which reach the 160th floor at speeds of some 10 metres per second. The tower's celebrated public observation deck, at the top, Burj Khalifa is on the 124th floor. The journey to the pinnacle involves a steep ladder climb within the 200-meter spire that crowns the building. These were then stitched together with manually shot images to 'fill-in' gaps caused by equipment installed at the top of the tower such as the lightning conductor and aircraft beacons. The result is an image that can be zoomed, tilted and rotated, giving viewers a sense of how it must feel to sit on top the world's highest building. The image has been released to celebrate the second Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photography Award (HIPA), which will take place in Dubai in March. The award, the world's richest photography award, will see prizes totalling $389,000 and attracts entrants from 99 countries, with a grand prize of $120,000. 'This is an extraordinary image taken from an extraordinary location,' said His Excellency Ali bin Thalith, the General Secretary of the award. 'It reflects the goals of HIPA, to extend the boundaries of photography and celebrate images of unusual beauty and quality that are truly outstanding,'