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Wouter Van Buuren's 360-degree landscape photography taken from the top of PYLONS

By staff 22/02/2012 09:08:00

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By Anthony Bond

Last updated at 3:08 PM on 22nd February 2012

This is one artist whose photographs really do make him feel on top of the world.

Daredevil photographer Wouter Van Buuren scales 70m-high electricity pylons, cranes, bridges and even skyscrapers in a bid to take the vertigo-inducing snaps.

He then spends months meticulously arranging the photographs to make up one huge landscape - giving the effect of looking down on the whole world.

Head for heights: Daredevil photographer Wouter Van Buuren scales 70m-high electricity pylons, cranes, bridges and even skyscrapers in a bid to take these incredible vertigo-inducing snaps. This picture was taken in Shanghai

Talented: The photographer spends months meticulously arranging the photographs to make up one huge landscape. This was taken in Nanjing, China

Mr Van Buuren, a Dutch photographer, has spent seven years creating his stunning collection of images - with each individual portrait taking between two months and two years to complete.

He said: 'I started to make the "total landscapes" in the Netherlands when I was climbing in electricity pylons. I was stunned by the beauty of the landscape I thought I knew so well.

'When I looked at the landscape from above, the mundane seemed more divine, so I decided to look around for what else I could take images from - and started climbing cranes, bridges and buildings and other countries all over the world.

'This leads to exciting adventures which involves climbing out of windows of sky scrapers or swimming towards my target and then climbing to the top.

Hard work: Mr Van Buuren has spent seven years creating his collection of images - with each individual portrait taking between two months and two years to complete.This stunning picture was taken in New York

Great view: This vertigo-inducing image was taken in Hoogvliet in the Netherlands. The photographer has captured the incredible photos in various locations across the world including China and the U.S

'The height of the objects I climb up varies, electricity pylons are somewhere between 40m and 70m, high-rise buildings 55 stories, about 200m.'

Mr Van Buuren has captured the incredible photos in various locations across the Netherlands, China, and the USA.

He added: 'Each work consists of more than 100 photographs shot with a standard 50mm lens.

'The spherical effect comes about by itself as a result of the way the photographs are put together.

'I don't use any sort of digital manipulation - I just spend hours laying them out.

Dedicated: Each picture consists of more than 100 photographs. This image was taken in Almere, the Netherlands

'When I started taking the pictures, I was already making collages trying to investigate the spacial properties of objects and the parts of the landscape.

'But I choose the places I photograph mostly out of curiosity. When I am somewhere and there is a possibility to go look from above I feel challenged by it.

'Even when I have shot the individual photographs I still have little idea what the collage will be like until it is nearly finished. I try to look for landscapes with different colours and shapes, as the abstract quality of the composition is important to me.

'Electricity towers are definitely my favourite structure to climb up though - I love their transparency.'

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