All for a good cause....

Mark just graciously donated the photograph above to Talisman Energy for their annual fundraising campaign for the United Way of Calgary.  His infamous fog over Dubai image will be auction off during Talisman’s week long internal online auction, running May 16-19, 2011.  Below you will find an exert from Mark’s Artist Statement.  If you would like to make this image yours as well, please contact me at charli@mennie.com, as prints are for sale. 

“This image was captured from the pool level of the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Sheik Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a view that is available to all guests of the hotel- and has been photographed by amateurs and professionals countless times, but on the morning of November 6th, 2009, Mark Mennie returned to this location after heavy fog had settled upon the city the evening before. Exiting the elevator on the 41st floor, and stepping into a cloud of light rain, Mark and only one hotel maintenance worker attending to the deck; were present. After 45 minutes- the fog briefly cleared, and only a few images were captured before rolling back in- leaving the view with a heavy haze for the rest of the day.

The timing of this image- illustrates numerous techniques and architectural accomplishments in this country on the Arabian Gulf; as it was only two days prior that the construction crane had been taken down from the worlds’ tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which was topped out with it’s mast- at 818 meters. Months later the mast was was actually extended and the tower is now noted at it’s world record height of 828 meters, over a half mile or referenced as 160+ occupied stories. The observation deck  is on the 124th floor- only a 58 second elevator ride. In contrast- the CN tower in Toronto is 515 meters; the new “Bow” in Calgary is only a mere 58 stories.

The Chelsea Apartment hotel is on the right side of the image, and the recently opened Rose Rayhaan Hotel is the distinctive building on the left- which Mark has now also accessed and photographed from the 68th floor in 2010.”

Until then….

Charli