The largest photograph in the world - 44.88 Gigapixels of Dubai

[LoverOfDubai]

gerald.d, you must feel very proud.

Congratulations again.

[DarkLite]

You should be proud of yourself, this is the best photograph hands down ever posted in SSC, I have nothing else to say.

[Dubaiiscool:)]

An amateur photographer gives a peek into the creation of his record-breaking panoramic view of Dubai



The view from the 42nd floor of the under-construction U-Bora Towers in Dubai's Business Bay is, of course, amazing. But many people would argue that a number of buildings in the area also provide amazing views. So what's so special about this floor, in this building? Well, history was created here.

On April 23, Gerald Donovan, a Dubai-based IT specialist and amateur photographer, took the first "gigapan" panorama of the world's tallest building and its surrounding area from this spot. The 45-gigapixel collage did not just receive more than a million hits in two weeks since its upload but got His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, interested in it.

The previous record holder of the world's largest digital photograph is widely reported to be a 26-gigapixel image of Paris, which was shot in September 2009 and made available on the internet in March 2010. However, what is not so widely known is that a 31-gigapixel image of the Swiss Alps was uploaded just one week before Donovan's Dubai image was put on www.gigapan.org

The Dubai image is 472,603 pixels wide and 94,955 pixels high — a total of 44,876,017,865 pixels. However, this is not the first time Donovan's work has been acclaimed. He was the first one to showcase videos of the Dubai Fountains and window cleaners on YouTube, which have received about a million hits. His video of the full stretch of the Dubai Metro was featured on CNN.

A different angle

"Everyone takes photos of the Burj Khalifa and the Business Bay," Donovan says. "Creating this picture was more an experiment than anything else. I was basically pushing the limits of the hardware and software available. It all started because I felt one shot alone didn't do justice to a building such as the Burj Khalifa. The first one I did was from the Address Hotel. I took seven or eight photos and stitched them together. This photo was picked up by Canon for a trade show and they printed a ten-metre-high picture, even though it was a low-quality image. From eight shots I went on to 80, from 80 to 200 and so on. This one has 4,250 shots. But it has generated a lot of interest despite the fact that they are not shots of the best quality".

Donovan says he's had an interest in photography since childhood but had lost touch with it for a long time. It's only about a year ago that he has taken it up again seriously. Standing at the exact spot from where he had earlier taken the photos, Donovan explained to Unwind the process.

Tricks of the trade

"I shot with a long telephoto lens on a camera placed on a robotic tripod. You program the area you want to photograph in the camera by marking the top left and the bottom right of the picture. The software determines how many columns and rows it would need to divide the picture into. Then you wait for the camera to click and the tripod controls the camera shifts. It took three and a half hours to create these photos. By the time I finished, the camera was too hot to touch, as then we were on top of the building. Taking 4,250 photos manually is not feasible.

"Then you need to stitch them together. There's a lot of stitching software available but I've found only one that can do such a big job. The software loads all 4,250 photographs into memory and then mathematically matches repeating features in different images to work out how to stitch them together. It takes a lot of computing power and a lot of time."

When asked what else he has shot in Dubai, he says he loves the buildings here. "I tend to do a lot of architectural photography and though I seem a little fixated with the Burj Khalifa, I think Dubai has a lot to offer in terms of architectural elegance. There are some fabulous buildings, such as the Burj Al Arab, the DIFC, The Address Hotel and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel."

Donovan set up a website (www.gddxb.smugmug.com) a few weeks ago, where he has uploaded some of his other typical work. However, he has put on hold his hobby for the next few months because he's moving on to a new project in Riyadh. "One reason is the air quality here, which, between now and October in Dubai, is pretty bad.

"Living in Jumeirah Lakes Towers provides a lot of opportunity to click photos. On a good day we can see all the way to the Burj Al Arab and the horizon as a sharp line beyond.

"In the next few weeks we will barely be able to see the Burj Al Arab because of the haze and humidity. Towards the end of the year, however, I plan to do a 360-degree panorama of the city by going up in a crane when the air is clear. Till then I'll do some normal photography."

Kit cost

He does not want to put a figure to the cost of creating this photograph.

"I don't really want to add up the cost of the kit. Especially when my wife is reading this. She may demand a handbag or a designer dress in lieu. I'll just say it wasn't cheap."

He plans to exhibit his work but technical constraints hold him back. "Some have shown interest in it. The problem with such a huge picture is how do you print it? Yes, you can print it and it would be interesting to see it printed.

"Moreover, the cost of it all will be enormous. Another factor is where do you show it? It could easily go up to 150 metres in width. It wasn't a very clear day when I shot it, so I'm worried about the quality too.

"I've done another one that may be better for printing, as it was a much clearer day — it's ‘only' 18.8 gigapixels and stretches from the Meydan round to Burj Khalifa and down Shaikh Zayed Road across the creek round to the airport."

Has he done this kind of thing anywhere else? "No. Dubai is the only place and, as I said, I've gotten serious about photography only here. But I'd love to do New York."

Specifications of, and the equipment used, to create the 45-gigapixel collage

Location: 42nd floor, U-Bora Towers, Business Bay, Dubai.

Camera: 4,250 shots taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L zoom at 400mm.

Tripod: Gigapan EPIC Pro.

Software: Autopano Giga software and Gigapan uploader.

PC: i7-920, 12GB RAM, 2x300GB Velociraptors (not RAID).

Power and storage: "Amazingly, both the battery in the Gigapan and the one in the 7D lasted out.

My previous record from it was around 3,000 images (across two separate panoramas). All 4,250 images (.jpg only) fit into a single 32GB CF card, taking up 27.5GB."

Time: About 3.30 hours, in 37C heat Snapshots: 419

Size: 44.88 gigapixels

Field of View: 243.3 degrees wide, 0.0 degrees high

Website: www.gigapan.org

Number of hits: 1333608 views

Seal of approval

On May 12 at 5.31am, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted thus on his official Twitter page regarding Gerald Donovan's remarkable photo:

"I'd like to share with you this stunning image of Dubai, which sets a new record for the world's largest photo http://tinyurl.com/365ztmt"

http://gulfnews.com/life-style/leisu...hesis-1.630034

[gerald.d]

Hmmm.

The Gulf News photographer was using a weird fish-eye lens that seems to have distorted my body shape and made me look rather rotund.

[Chakazoolu]

Gerald...yeah, a 360 degree pic of Dubai is a good idea... still think it should be done at the top of the Burj Khalifa spire... im sure Sheikh mo will approve it.

as for the crane, I take it will be on top of a tower U/C?

[gerald.d]

Have to be honest - the record lasted longer than I thought it would.

In the past 2 days, 3 panoramas bigger than my Dubai one have been published. Two of them I would discount because there's way too much sky in them for no reason other than to add extra pixels.

No arguing with this one though - and it is the largest:

http://gigapan.org/gigapans/54825/

Congratulations Rio!

[Parisian Girl]

Gerald, is Budapest one of those panoramas you've discounted? There is a lot of sky here.

70-Gigapixel http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/...-a-great-view/ Budapest. 70 Billion pixels.

[gerald.d]

Originally Posted by Parisian Girl

Gerald, is Budapest one of those panoramas you've discounted? There is a lot of sky here.

70-Gigapixel http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/...-a-great-view/ Budapest. 70 Billion pixels.

Hi PG -

The Budapest one was published after my earlier comment, but yes - there is a crazy amount of sky in that one too. OK, so it does balance the panorama quite nicely, but it seems a bit unnecessary to me. What's to stop the Rio people from simply photoshopping in 50 gigapixels of sky above their existing one?

[Parisian Girl]

Originally Posted by gerald.d

Hi PG -

The Budapest one was published after my earlier comment, but yes - there is a crazy amount of sky in that one too. OK, so it does balance the panorama quite nicely, but it seems a bit unnecessary to me. What's to stop the Rio people from simply photoshopping in 50 gigapixels of sky above their existing one?

Hi Gerald,

Yes, indeed, you're right. It's too easy to just stick a whole lot of sky in there. When it comes to such panoramas, give me good old fashioned density/urbanity any day.

I want to see a 100-Gigapixel of Paris. NOT me of course - the city!

[AltinD]

Yeah, a 100 Gigapixel one would be way to big and might show things you wouldn't want to be seen. A 90 - 95 Gigapixel one would be perfect though

[Parisian Girl]

Hmm, your 90 - 95 Gigapixel suggestion sounds quite interesting actually. Could do wonders for my image no end huh!? And besides, I always did want to be the world's most prominent woman!

[Pakia]

Awesome pic but Dubai still looks deserted (pun intended) and don't seem too much fun.

[Saul Silver]

http://www.360cities.net/london-photo-en.html

80 Gigapixel
80 Billion Pixels

[gerald.d]

Update:

http://dubai.posterous.com/dubai45gi...and-printed-20

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the taking of this image. To celebrate, I have re-rendered it to remove practically all stitching and ghosting errors.

The result is a MUCH better image.

Link above is to a reduced size version.

This is going to be printed 20 feet wide by 4 feet tall, and will be unveiled at GeekFest Dubai on Thursday 28th April (details here: http://fakeplasticsouks.blogspot.com...est-dubai.html).

Do come along if you want to see this piece of photographic history

The first of a strictly limited edition of just 10 prints of this size will be auctioned, with all proceeds going to charity.

[gerald.d]

Here it is

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...#tabs-1-tab-1_

[John123]

Amazing photograph, I like it.

[bizzybonita]

GD Mabrook ...

Mashallah the most respectifull idea is that charity thing

[gerald.d]

And still it continues.

http://www.thenational.ae/national-b...articleID=1602

I'm crossing my fingers for a successful auction on Thursday evening.

[Dubai_Boy]

Originally Posted by bizzybonita

GD Mabrook ...

Mashallah the most respectifull idea is that charity thing

yes i agree

[christos-greece]

Originally Posted by gerald.d

http://gigapan.org/gigapans/48492/

So far that one its the greatest photo you create gerald and congratulations