Up on the Roof: Not for the Faint of Heart
If you’ve seen Harold Lloyd’s classic comedy „Safety Last“, you may remember his daredevil stunts of dangling from skyscraper clock’s minute hand at a dizzying height and generally climbing without any significant support, producing huge thrills and frights. Today we are going to see more vintage and modern examples of such mind-bending balance, done for the camera (without any computer and special effects):
(man balancing on a piece of wood on the roof of a skyscraper 1939 (some say, Harold Lloyd himself?), photo via)
Here is another twist on this dangerous „game of chairs“, all performed in the 1920s-1930s:
(images via)
American equilibrist J. Reynolds, performing acrobatic and balancing acts on high cornice above 9th Street N.W.“ in 1917:
(left image via)
Another insane chair balancing stunt was recently performed by French equilibrist Henri Rechatin in Moscow, overlooking the Red Square – see video here:
(images via)
Here is another balancing act involving chairs, this time performed by Chinese acrobats:
(image credit: Henry Atkinson)
And finally, here is an insane acrobat performance on a ledge of the Empire State Building, photographed by Otto Bettman in 1934:
(image via)
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These are fabricated balancing situations – created by Chinese artist Li Wei:
(images via)
„Li Wei states that these images are not computer montages, but that he uses mirrors, metal wires, scaffolding and acrobatics“.
(images via)
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Extreme Heights Tightrope Walking Feats
The following beautiful, atmospheric image was captured by French photographer Sylvain Emmanuel Prieur:
(image credit: Sylvain Emmanuel Prieur, via)
Extreme slackline walking in Austria, by the Australian daredevil Michael Kemeter:
(image via)
Not tightroping, but a BASE jumping platform using a vertigo-inducing suspended bridge in Gimmelwald, Switzerland:
(images via)
And then, there is a newly popular activity among photographers and urban explorers: rooftopping. One of the masters of this extreme approach to photography is Tom Ryaboi (see more of his work here):
(images credit: Tom Ryaboi)
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„All in a Day’s Work“ Balancing
This kind of maintenance requires great balancing skills and no fear of heights:
More „balancing during construction“ madness:
Looks like this man is doing something wrong:
People in Sri Lanka mastered a very special „Balancing Act“ for simple fishing purposes:
(image credit: Exodus.co.uk)
Official Source: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2013/11/incredible-balancing-acts-tightrope.html#FpolqbS2DdjTh3WC.99
