Anyone can take a picture of their food, their dog, or their own face. That's 90% of instagram, which I'm not necessarily complaining about. I love food, dogs, and beautiful faces, after all. But even if 90% of pictures are standard, there is that 10% of images that are something incredibly special.
What's the recipe for one of these photos? Either the person was in the right place at the right time, they caught the perfect angle, or they put themselves in a position that no one in their right mind would put themselves in. That's what makes an insane photo that will make your head spin.
Check out some of these head spinning photos and see how many you would attempt to catch on your phone. I bet it's under five, and that's probably just you fronting. For me it's none of them at all, especially not #50. The people on photo #50 are COMPLETELY out of their minds!
I have a big problem with mountain climbing, personally. I really don't like the idea of dying from a strong gust of wind. If you're just walking down the street you don't have to worry about that too much. When you're standing on the top of a mountain it starts to become something worth worrying about. Just one gust and all of a sudden that's it. "How'd Julio die?" / "A light breeze."
This woman has absolutely no fear hanging off of the Pedra de Gavea Mountain in Brazil. She opted for the "legs dangling off" pose, which does seem a lot safer than going head first. At least you can hang on for dear life. You wouldn't catch me dead doing that - actually maybe that's not right. You would catch me dead doing that. I'd have a heart attack.
Some people can look cool doing anything. I've even seen a guy in a leather jacket eat soup in a cool way once. It was french onion too. If you can look cool eating some french onion soup, then you've got it down. Me? It's difficult to look cool even if I'm riding a motorcycle (that's because I scream for die life). Where I know I will never have the slightest chance looking cool? 70 stories up on a railing.
This guy not only climbed all the way up whatever death trap that is that he's standing on, but he's looking pretty rad doing it too. He's got the full outfit on. Sunglasses and everything. I'd probably fall to my death after my sunglasses fell of my head and I try to catch them. That's why you'll never see me #high.
A standard photographer takes a picture of something and shows you what it is. Like a statement of fact. A great photographer takes a picture of something and shows you something much greater than just what the image is depicting. It is a statement of emotion. It's why some photographs have transcended time and are still revered today, even though the cameras weren't 1,000,000 megapixels back when they were taken. Really though, how many megapixels does one really need?
This picture doesn't even look real. It looks like it could be a trippy screen saver image that comes with your windows PC. If someone showed me this picture and asked, "would you like to visit here?" I'd say "sure, but where are we going to get four pounds of magic mushroom?" What an insane, beautiful shot.
I hope this dude didn't eat any buttery popcorn before he took this picture. One slip of that hand and it's all over. You'd hope to get at least a couple dozen likes from your death-selfie, right? Then again, if you fell and died who would hit "post?" These are philosophical questions we wouldn't have to answer if this crazy guy didn't attempt this amazing shot.
Look at all those lights over Ukraine. I didn't even know Ukraine had that much electricity. I'm just kidding, of course. Most of those lights are car headlights after all. In all seriousness though, this shot makes me want to visit the Ukraine. Definitely not to do this though. I don't think I have any friends or family who care about me enough to come to Ukraine to recover the body.
These are the amazing Haiku Stairs, or Stairway to Heaven as it's also called. It looks like a mini-golf version of the Great Wall of China, doesn't it? This particular shot of the stairs really shows how large and wondrous they are. I'd really love to check it out, but I'd most likely be asking, "Can you point in the direction of the Escalator to Heaven? Or maybe the Haiku Elevator."
The one bad thing about getting a picture like this is that you need to climb a lot of those stairs to get it. There's no short cut around that. Maybe that's why it's not quite a selfie. The dude was most likely about to pass out so he's hiding his face. I can relate since all it takes is a brisk walk for me to look like I'm dying of diphtheria.
If I was talking to someone and I asked, "what do you do for fun?" and they said, "I climb on top of cranes and take pictures" I'd slap them right in the face. It wouldn't even be by choice. It would just be my body's natural reaction from hearing something so ludicrous. After you snap that pic do you immediately upload it to the iCloud in case you fall and die?
I don't know if it's the lens or what, but this picture looks disturbingly high. Maybe it's the fact that it looks like the photographer is only standing on one foot. Maybe it's just that we didn't build cranes for humans to climb so this whole situation is ridiculous. Now, the big question is: did he climb that whole way or did he just grab on tight and let the crane do the work?
Turkeys can't fly, but you can fly over Turkey. That's the kind of joke my dad would tell me (if we were on speaking terms). Why am I making an awful turkey joke? Because that's where this amazing picture was taken. Not that I ever see myself skydiving, but if I do I am going to make sure that I take plenty of pictures. Otherwise I don't think I could even believe that I did it. I'd assume it was just a dream or a nightmare depending on how you look at it.
This guy busted out the advanced level selfie stick for his adventure. Look at that thing. It looks like you could play baseball with it. I'm worried if he dropped it that it might crack the Earth. I wonder if the guy operating the parachute wanted to see the photo. "Do I look good in it? Delete it if I don't."
Flying squirrel suits are pretty awesome. At least, that's what I think they are called. They are the type of suit that the guy in the picture is wearing. Either that or I'm wrong and he's tied up in his parachute. They allow you to glide in the air like a flying squirrel. After you're done flying around I'm not entirely sure what you're supposed to do. Just crash and hope your death is quick? Who knows. Next time I see one at Walmart I'll pick it up and read the instruction manual.
This flying squirrel suit made for the best selfie. Too bad his face isn't visible due to that helmet. If I was his friend I'd say, "that's not really you. You're lying. You liar." Why even wear a helmet at ten thousand feet though?
These look like the type of people I want to invite to a party. When faced with the death defying challenge of skydiving, they decided to do it on an inflatable jet ski and airplane. Not only that. The guy in center frame is just in jeans and a sweater. That's probably his sons skateboard helmet too, which is crazy to me. I always assumed jumpsuits and high-tech helmets were necessary. Knowing I can go up there in an Armani suit if I wanted makes me more inclined to go skydiving. You gotta dive in style.
Their bold choice makes for an awesome picture. Though I'm a little unfamiliar with any jet skis that have flying capabilities. Maybe he's hoping for a water landing. If so, I think he's off by what looks like a mile or two.
Before I put this photographer on blast, I want to give credit to the real photographer of this photo of the underwater waterfall in Mauritius, because it is not the person whose legs we're looking at. Can I go back to physics class so someone can please explain to me how this is possible? Is this the only place where you can die by drowning and falling at the same time?
The person who shot this specific photo, however, clearly never went to this location. That's clearly a green screen that they put their feet over. If you look at the sides you can see that they are wavy, and the lighting is completely different than the lighting of the picture. Nice try. Try to crop next time. I hope the likes were worth it.
It always makes for a great picture when you can get the audience to question whether or not it's even real. To make the real world look magical is a gift. That's exactly how this picture makes me feel. You can tell by her hair that there are amazingly high wind speeds, yet she's balancing on this small peak. Both the photographer and the subject are doing some great work here. I'd be on my hands and knees shivering.
There's a lot to enjoy in this photo because it affects the senses. It makes me wonder what the ground she's stepping on feels like, and how cool the wind is that's tossing her hair to the side. I'm tearing up a little bit, to be honest. It makes me want to go on a hike, or at least a walk to 7-11.
I love dissecting this type of photo because I always tend to take photos for granted on first glance. You look at a photo and just assume it was as easy as pointing and shooting. That's all it took to instagram my 'eternal bliss oatmeal' at the Gratitude Cafe earlier today after all. Consider all the elements in this photo. It's pointing down at the subject. That means that whoever took the photo was even higher up. If he didn't climb then he's on a helicopter, which means that climber's job is even harder with huge gusts of unatural wind slapping against him.
It must have taken a lot to snap this shot, and I'm not seeing any safety liners connected to the climber. Rock on, dude! Get it? Just watch out for that huge rock at the top that looks like it could fall at any second.
New York has one of the most photographable skylines I've ever seen. If the New York skyline was a dog, it would be a golden retriever. That's what I consider to be the most photographable dog (I'm lying. It's really a pug but I don't think that's relatable enough to share). This skyline holds up with all the others. What gives it such a unique quality is the kinetic energy it has. You feel like you're diving into New York.
When you're diving into New York like this do you consider which neighborhood you're going to land in. Does the Bronx have better delis but not great landing areas? Is Manhattan too expensive to drop into? Time Square would just be a nightmare with all the foot traffic, but at least it's well lit and you'd have an audience.
I have a ton of respect for mountain climbers because of the skill it takes to climb, especially without any safety equipment. Just a sack of powder and your hands. I don't even climb down tall stairs without a safety line, and I always keep a sack of powder with me anyway in case I want to disappear like a ninja. I don't, however, respect mountain climber's life choices. Why you'd bet your life against your grip strength. That's a bet I'd lose in the first five feet.
This picture at Cala Sa Nau Rocks in Spain is trippy. You're not quite sure if the climber is upside down or if the camera is upside down. Either way that looks like an incredibly tough climb. He'd have to have super glue hands just to stay up there like that.
A great photo is about balance. Balance of the light. Balance of the color. Balance of the subjects. In this case it's also about physical balance as well as all those other things. It takes incredible strength and balance to even do a short slackline. That's a long way to hold your balance. Sometimes I won't even walk the three blocks to the corner store near my apartment and that doesn't even take any special skill. That's just walking. If I had to walk that three blocks on slack line then I'd never have my flaming hot Cheetos.
If you're not too terrified of heights you could try to take a picture like this. It just might take a couple years of slackline training and a plane ticket to Ecuador. I could do the plane ticket to Ecuador, but I'll pass on any of the slacklining.
I was once in a museum gift shop scoping out the hot merch when I came across some of the rocks for sale. Yes, they sell rocks at the gift shop there. You can go to a store and buy rocks, the things that naturally occurs in the Earth. It felt ridiculous to me. Then I saw the prices and it felt even more ridiculous. They wanted more than one hundred dollars for some of those rocks, which felt completely ridiculous. Then I got educated.
Consider this picture to help me make my point. That's a pretty amazing rock structure. A rock structure like that doesn't just happen. It takes hundreds if not thousands of years. That was once a piece of flat earth that slowly became a huge, towering spire. That's why you pay $100 for a rock.
Some people get so good at something that they become bored with it to a certain degree. They can't help but take their skill to the next level in an effort to continue to challenge themselves. For example, I have a friend who got so good at guitar that now he only plays it behind his head or with his teeth. That must have been the case with this slackliner who has gotten so good that now he's doing it upside down.
This type of slackliner picture is especially mesmerizing since he's upside down. The hanging quality gives it a topsy turvy feeling. It's like it totally feels like he shouldn't be in the same view as the water Try doing a headstand and looking at the picture and it'll look like he's doing it in bizarro world.
Perfect framing can make or break a photo. Take that green screen photo from #10 for example. A little bit of cropping on the sides of that photo may have fooled a few more people into thinking it was real. In the case of this picture, the tight cropping gives it a feeling like this slackliner is floating in thin air. Not knowing where he's going or where he came from gives a sense of magic. It makes the feat seem unbelievable. With that city in the deep distance I'm completely mesmerized.
Even given the reality of the situation, it's still unbelievable when you consider its someone walking on a rope across a huge distance. Slacklining should totally be an olympic sport. It takes such an incredible amount of strength. More than curling at least. That's just people sweeping.
I think that it's safe to assume than any Russian will out tough 90% of the human population in most matters. Dare a Russian that they can't climb as tall a building as you and then you'll get situations that lead to pictures like this. He's so dizzyingly high that this picture almost looks like a trippy puzzle. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like that movie Inception. Like the buildings are crawling upwards or something.
I really like studying every inch of this photo. As your eyes trace farther down the tower you start to notice the lack of natural climbing paths. Whatever it took to get up that tower must have been difficult as hell. Someone should have left him a beer up there because he deserves it.
Let's set things straight. I assume this building's policy for climbing it is that they don't want anyone to do that, but with a structure like this they are practically begging people to climb it. It looks like a ladder. If you don't want people to climb your building, just don't make it so easy. Give it spikes. Or make it very slick and wet. Those are just some suggestions to avoid any possible lawsuits.
For the picture's sake, I'm glad this specific building is very climbable. You can't get this kind of view of China without someone risking their lives. Maybe that's what art is all about. It's about risking your health to give something back to the world. I'll think about that the next time I'm busting out my paint brush. Maybe I'll risk my life by using lead paint.
Why is this the case of the flying fruit? Maybe some of you have spotted it already. Maybe some of you haven't. Look at the lower frame. I'm assuming that the object flying below these guys in the lower part of the frame is a fruit. I have no idea what fruit it is though. Let's just get that out of the way. If you know what kind of fruit that is, please let everyone know in the comments, because we're dying here. We need to know.
These two guys are sky cowboys.That's the best way to describe them. Sure, they aren't wearing cowboy hats, but who would expect them to while flying 60 mile per hour down the road? They're just giving off that cowboy type of vibe. The framing of Guadalupe Island behind them makes this picture especially mesmerizing.
I've been in an incredibly loving relationship for a couple of years and I thought everything was perfect. Then I saw this photo. My relationship has nothing on these two. This is why they invented the hashtag #relationship goals. He's literally carrying her and holding her life in his hands. My girlfriend and I would probably kill each other from fighting halfway up this tower. Forget how they got up there. How did she get up on his shoulders?
That gorgeous view of Guanqdonq can't be seen without this vantage point. I think he may have missed the opportunity to propose. I can't think of a more memorable place. Good thing she wasn't thinking, "if he doesn't propose to me I'm going to throw him off." Or maybe she couldn't throw him off because she was on his shoulders.
Looking at this picture has the same effect as drinking six beers. Sure, as I'm writing this I've already drank ten beers, but that just proves that I know what six beers feels like. You can't beat that kind of logic. Really stare it at though and you'll see what I mean. It's the dipping in and out of focus that gives it that dizzying quality. That's a result of a skilled photographer using some trippy depth of field.
I want to give a big shout out to this slackliner's outfit. They are really popping out in this picture representing the McDonalds red and yellow. That's a showman if I've ever seen one. That's someone who understands that slacklining is more than just walking across a rope. It's about walking across a rope in style.
If humans were meant to fly then we would have been born with wings. The next best thing we have is Red Bull, and even that seems to give me more heart palpitations than wings. The seen jumping off of this mountain must disagree with me about humans being able to fly. Or maybe Red Bull really does give this guy wings. I'd imagine he must have drank a couple of them to pull this off. More than three and even I'd be game to jump off a cliff.
This here is Mount Wellington. I'll mess with some beef wellington, but I'm not messing with Mount Wellington. I like the types of mountains with hiking trails where people take their puppies. This one is so treacherous he probably had no choice to get down but to jump.
The type of pictures you can capture while skydiving are like no other. If you're a photographer who is afraid of heights then you just have to accept there will be some photos you'll never be able to take. That's a little heartbreaking, isn't it? There must be a thrill to framing up a shot while plummeting downward. It's almost as nerve wracking as taking a photo for a group of teenage girls. If one of them doesn't look cute in it they'll maul you.
There's a unique vibe to this photo since the skydiver has the perfect flattened image of Italy behind him. The way it captures the natural spiral design is gorgeous. It's almost as if it's a blanket that he's laying on. A blanket he's hurling 40 miles per hour towards. There isn't enough fabric softener in the world.
Imagine you have a date planned with a guy and he says he's going to pick you up at eight. Right at eight he calls you and says he's outside, so you come out to find homie in a hot air balloon. What do you do? Assume he's got the same swagger as the dude in this picture. You'd have no choice. He looks too smooth. I don't even think I could look that poised if I was in a hot air balloon that was still on the ground.
The many different hot air balloons in the background make for a beautiful picture. Do you think they're all headed to the same party? Or is that just traffic? It's not like you can choose your route in a hot air balloon. You pretty much just go where the wind takes you.
The angle of this photo gives the perspective like it's you looking down after climbing all that way. Every photo is technically a first person view, but some photos give that extra sense of actually being there. I can appreciate that since it means I don't actually have to be there. That's a plus for someone like me who has a fear of heights, dying, and dying from heights.
The fact that people actually do this type of activity still astounds me. Then again, me and those type of people have a symbiotic relationship. They do it. I write about it. The good news on this climb is that if you fall, you fall in the water. The bad news on this climb is that if you fall, you fall in water so intense that it's guaranteed to kill you.
Look at all those trees! It's like they had to walk through Middle Earth to get to that rock spyre. You tend to forget that awesome things in nature like a giant rock spyre don't have parking lots right next to them. You can't just pull in, walk ten feet, and start climbing. These people had to hike all the way through tose trees before they could even think about climbing up the rock. Sometimes I'll turn around and head back home if I can't find a parking spot close to where I'm going. That's how I missed my son's baptism.
There's a look of pure joy on this climber's face, and she's definitely earned it. The guy still climbing below her is like, "don't take the picture yet. Wait until I get up there."
Pretty girls can never seem to get the perfect selfie despite looking perfect 100% of the time. I've seen a pretty girl check out her gorgeous selfie and say "ugh, I'm so hideous," which just makes me thinks, "what do you think about ME?" I must look like swamp thing in all of my photos in their eyes. Here's a situation where you don't want to take multiple selfies. If the picture didn't come out, just pay someone to do some editing.
I don't understand how she's up there in shorts and a belly shirt. It looks freezing up there. You can see the fog and mist in the distance. I'd probably die from hypothermia, then I'd fall and crack into a million pieces like an ice sculpture. That's why if I went up there I'd wear a jacket, a helmet, a parachute, and last will and testament.
First off, I had no idea that the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had a secret hatch. To be honest, I didn't even know it was hollow. Now I'm starting to question all the things that I don't know. I wonder if people have secret parties inside the statue? That's what this guy makes it look like after he just waltzed right in and took this selfie. Seriously, let's get some security on this situation.
Where'd the top of the hatch go? I like to think he just started ot push it up and then dropped it. What are you going to do after that happens? It's not like you're going to walk all the way back down and then come back up just to return the hatch. The only people who can see the hole are in helicopters and planes anyway.
We're so used to the crime fighting duo of Batman and Robin that we often forget the incredible duo of Batman and Batman. By the looks of it they had to share pieces of costume, because that's a lot less armor on the bat than I'm used to. I can't imagine climbing that tower was any easier with Walmart Batman masks on, but they definitely get extra style points for it.
Group activities can be fun and all, and I'm especially happy anytime there are two Batmans in the same room, but I'm not sure I understand the concept of doing a climb like this with two people. Are they hoping to save money on a joint funeral? Then again if they climbed separately and the first guy to go falls, do you still go through with it? Something like that can really steal your thunder.
There's nothing better than relaxing with some music on your headphones. Not through speakers, but through your headphones. Am I right? There's something that just connects you more to the music (while simultaneously destroying your ear drums). Headphones get me so in the zone that I sometimes forget what's around me, which is why there's some places that I just can't rock out in them. Like walking in the shady part of town, or on top of skyscrapers. I don't trust my headbanging skills enough.
This girl seems to have no problem chilling on top of a skyscraper listening to music. She could be listening to a podcast too, but I can't see any podcast that fits that sort of occasion. Is there some kind of daredevil podcast that I'm not aware of? I'll stick with Led Zeppelin in the safety of my own home.
I'm at least always a little comforted by the fact that some of these buildings have ladders you can climb. I see some of these and they don't have any normal handholds. I don't see myself ever climbing this, but I can at least understand how it's possible. Adventure photographer Alexander Remnov uses his selfie stick to capture an unseen view of the Hong Kong skyline all while lying down.
I love my naps, but I like them on a bed. Preferably one that just a mattress on the ground. That's how much I don't like heights. I hate heights so much that I crawled until the age of 20. I hate heights so much that I only get on elevators that have G and underground parking buttons. I hate heights so much I only wear heels on special occasions.
I've gotten burnt by hot oil enough to know that I don't want to get anywhere near lava. Fire and lava have a way of doing unpredictable things. I remember sitting by the fire with my cat Coco when a hot coal just shot out of the fireplace out of nowhere and landed on her. She ran around the house with a trail of smoke behind her. It was terrifying. She even has a little scar now because of it.
Unpredictable is especially present when you're dealing with bubbling lava. Who knows when one of those streaks of hot death is going to lunge for you. That's why I'm impressed by mountaineer Nik Haliks taking a hot selfie next to the active Benbow Volcano on Ambrym Island in Vanuatu. It's looking pretty feisty over there in that lava pit.
You know how when you're learning to drive people will warn you that it's not your bad driving you need to worry about. It's the other bad drivers on the road. That's how I feel about this picture. I could be 100% confident with my balance, but if a huge gust of wind or a pigeon comes and hits me then it doesn't really matter. It's leaving way too much up to chance. Remember when Fabio got hit by a seagull while riding a roller coast? This stuff happens!
We've seen a lot of pictures of people holding selfie sticks and looking extreme on death defying distances, but no one has looked as cool and casual as this girl. On pointed toe she looks like a ballerina ready to bust a move. Her only mistake is outfit choice. Bad idea to wear a skirt when you're that high up.
'm not big on sending out Christmas cards every year, but if I ever snapped a photo like this you better bet it's going to be my Christmas card photo. I'll even send it to people I don't even know. Everyone needs to know about my accomplishment.
How come that selfie stick looks like it's fourteen feet long? It looks massive, but then again that is most likely just the lens effect. It makes you wonder, if the lens can make the selfie stick look that big, then what else is it doing? Maybe he's not even that high. This could all be a lens effect where he's really only three feet off the ground. Something tells me that's not true since this is daredevil photographer Ervin Punkar at the very top of the 183m TV tower in Tartu, Estonia.
My immediate reaction to this is "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!" Didn't anybody ever teach her that this is how accidents happen? I'm not entirely sure this isn't some kind of effect. There's got to be a hidden rope, or a guy holding her hand that got photoshopped out of there quicker than a bad ex boyfriend. Trust me, there are photos that I used to be in that exes have gone through great lengths to remove me from.
Seriously though, how stupid would everyone involved feel if this girl fell while taking this? It's not like this is a Gucci ad or something. Maybe I'd die for a Gucci ad, but not just for some instagram likes. I'll never understand these daredevils, but God bless them.
This is a great faraway shot of Russians Vladimir Sidorov and Ivan Kusznetsov scaling a tower in Shanghao, China that could make for an excellent movie still. When you think about it, why buy drones when you can just hire guys like this to climb buildings and get amazing footage for you. These guys are such adrenaline junkies I bet they'd do it for free.
I remember seeing a Thai action movie where a group of men are all trying to be the first to climb a tree to gain a reward. They're all throwing each other down and fighting to get to the top. This reminds me a lot of that. I'd really love to see them fight their way to the top. Now that's an action movie. Cast Ryan Reynolds and a couple of the famous Chris' (Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth).
It seems like climbing huge towers like this isn't a one time thing. People who do this make a career out of it. I'm not so sure they actually make any money out of it, but what i mean is they do it a lot. This climber, Angela Nikolau, is exactly what I'm talking about. In the past, Angela Nikolau has climbed landmarks including the Shanghai Tower in China, Sagrada Familia in Spain, and the Eiffel Tower in France.
This looks like the type of girl I'd try to hit on at a bar, but I can't imagine dating someone who regularly climbs like this. I'd be a wreck every time they went out. I'm so protective I'd probably wait at the bottom in hopes to catch them if they fell. It's not realistic, but at least it's a little romantic.
If your kid wants a treehouse, you build them a treehouse. If your kid wants a swing, you build them a swing. That's what a good parent does. I think this parent may have made some bad choices in an effort to provide for their child. That's certainly a nice treehouse and swing, but how did they turn a fun activity into the most terrifying experience in the world?
This swing would make me an extremely worried parent. Everytime my kid would say they are going out to play on the swing I'd kiss them goodbye as if that was the last time I was ever going to see them. Plus, what fun is a swing that you can't jump off of? I mean, yes, you can jump off of this swing but that would men certain death, so where's the fun in that?
Can you imagine going camping with your buddy, and everything seems to be going fine. You drive hours away and take a hike into the woods. You ask your friend, "where are we setting up camp?" And then he points upward. I'd never go camping with that person again. I'm the type of guy who stays on the ground unless I can help it. If I could get on an airplane and it could just drive me to my destination, I'd do that.
These hanging campsites are absolutely incredible. I can understand some situations where there might not be any other possible place to camp, but thats' why I avoid that type of place entirely. I'd be too afraid to move while sleeping in one of those. I'm the type who tosses and turns. I don't want to fall to my death just because I rolled over.
Bike lanes were created so that bicyclists could safely ride without getting hit or falling into a huge pit full of spikes. They are there to make everything more safe. This bike lane, however, is not acting upon that principal. Don't get me wrong. I've been riding a bike for my entire life. I'm pretty good at it, but I'd rather just walk the bike in this case. I trust my balance. Just not that much.
The photo is absolutely incredible though. Imagine if it was shot the other way and no one ever knew the death-defying act these bicyclists went through. It just looked like two guys biking against a wall. I'd kill that camera guy. If I'm going to do something bad ass, you better take a picture that represents that. If I do something wimpy, please destroy all evidence.
In one respect, climbing an ice wall must be easier because your spikes can go into it much easier. Then again, normal rocks can't melt, so there's that. You really want to be keyed into the weather report when you're climbing an ice waterfall. You don't want to be halfway up when Mr. Sun comes out and decides to say hello. One minutes you're climbing. The next minute you're going down a waterslide. When I put it that way, it doesn't sound so bad.
It's amazing that water can even freeze while falling like that. That's a big sign that that's not a place I should be. If waterfalls are freezing then I don't trust my blood not to freeze. I don't care how marvelous the human body is. I'm from Los Angeles. I get cold when it's 65 degrees fahrenheit. I can't trust myself in the wild like that.
I don't trust my hand strength enough to do anything like this. I have to take breaks bringing my grocery bags into the house. This guy's hand looks like he could crush a full beer can, so I don't see him having any problems. He probably has one of those jobs where he tightens screws with his bare fingers all day. That's a job, right? Maybe if I made my keys harder to press I'd have hands like that guy.
You really have to trust your photographer when taking a picture like this. They can't dilly dally. "Hold on. Stephen just texted me. I gotta text him back." / "Just take the freakin' picture!" You don't have time to be picky for something like this. You don't want to fall to your death just because you forgot to do duck face and had to retake the photo.
Take a look at this gnarly walkway. Those are children on it. Not adult adventurers. They are just normal children. I don't want to hear anyone complain about having to walk two miles in the snow to school anymore. These kids are walking on Indiana Jones style bridges to travel. That's as extreme as it gets. I'm just assuming that's how they go to school, which could be wrong, but either way they're on it. For one reason or another.
The picture is framed so that everything looks extremely tight and small, as if there is nowhere for these kids to go. That view out across the horizon makes it feel like it has infinite depth. I hope for those kid's sake that the walkway is a little wider than that in actuality. At least they have an old dirty chain to hold onto. Gulp.
Is this a scene from the movie 'Cloud Atlas?" Is that Benedict Cumberbatch? You'll get that joke if you saw 'Cloud Atlas,' which you totally should just so you can understand this joke. This is insanely futuristic looking, like it belongs in a science fiction film. It's already an intense image, but all the bright blues give it an unreal vibe and cinematic quality. After seeing so many images of people hanging, it's nice to one that's so stylistic. As much as I like the raw quality of a standardly lit picture, this is a nice change of pace.
This guy hasn't given himself the easiest job in getting back up. I'm sure you don't do something like this without being very confident in your upper body strength, but thats looks like a Captain America level reach to pull himself back up.
This is one where I could actually understand looking up at a big tower with a star on top of it and thinking, "I need to climb that." Even with my intense fear of heights I'd have that feeling to some degree. There's something magical about stars that comfort me into thinking I won't die. Maybe it's the whole "when you wish upon a star" thing that's stuck in my mind. I'd wish upon a star not to fall to my death.
Still, I can't look at this picture for more than a few seconds. As comforting as a star is, it doesn't look particularly easy to climb up or down. All this guy needs to do now is go to parties and show people that picture. He can take home anyone he wants after that. Some guys learn guitar. Some guys climb tall things.
This guy is hanging out so casually on that ledge that it looks like he's at a bus stop checking to see if the bus is coming. It's like, dude, you're not Spiderman. There's no reason for you to be up there chilling. First off, it's gotta be cold that high up. Uncomfortably cold. Secondly, what are you going to do up there? Scope out chicks and do some cat calling from sixty stories high? Are you going to see a crime and hope you land on the guy?
As we near the end of this list, I'm getting an oncoming panic attack thinking about all these people standing at such incredible heights or putting themselves in incredible danger. Sometimes I don't even go out past dark because something might happen. Maybe those are my own issues I need to work out.
I want to interview this gentlemen and ask him how he knew that rock wouldn't fall when he stepped on it. Sure, it looks pretty steady, but you never know. I'd want to throw a raccoon on it first to double check. That's not fair to the racoon, but it's not fair when they eat my trash either, so consider us even.
How'd that happen anyway? That's like nature's version of when you shoot a basketball and it gets stuck between the rim and the backboard. Then you need to ask someone to use their ball while you retrieve yours, but no one is around so you just have to wait there all night but no one ever comes. So now you're just the creepy guy at the park at midnight because you don't want to lose your ball. Is that just me?
This may be a familiar cliff for you if you regularly look at internet pictures. That means if you work in an office job you have definitely seen this, because from my experience that's all that people do while working in an office job. They look at Reddit and drink coffee. This is a spot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that when framed right, looks like a deadly cliff. In reality there is ground right below. People are a little sick of these pictures now since they know the truth, but it can still be a fun gag.
I'm definitely the boyfriend who drops his girlfriend over the edge though. I wish I wasn't, but think about it. I'm a writer. My power is in my mind, not my arms. Sorry, honey, but if you wanted to be put in immediate danger, you chose the wrong guy.
