
Photographing people on the edge of a skyscraper in San Francisco - karenxcheng
http://www.vonwong.com/blog/reallifesuperheroes/
======
stevecalifornia
The final pictures are so heavily over-produced that they look incredibly
fake-- which is a shame and leaves me totally baffled. It looks like someone
literally painted the figure on the picture.

The only time anxiety kicked in was the picture of the whole team posing for a
shot at the corner.

~~~
vonwong
Sorry you feel that way :( We had home-made budget costumes that were hand
painted so this was the best solution.

On the flip side though, I think you'll enjoy these behind the scenes without
photoshop :

[https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5ixzup47wcm1tw/BTS_katherine-2.jp...](https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5ixzup47wcm1tw/BTS_katherine-2.jpg?dl=0)

(theres more on the dropbox
link:[https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl...](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzlOILxaDIa?dl=0))

~~~
nostromo
Yeah, the raw photos are more intense for me.

[https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl...](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzlOILxaDIa?dl=0#lh:null-
BTS_Brent-2.jpg) <\- wow!!

All are awesome though, great work.

~~~
Stratoscope
Oh my. Yes, the raw untouched photos - with all safety equipment showing -
activate a completely different part of my brain. Now I _know_ these are real
people, really leaning over the edge of a skyscraper.

It was a bit like seeing the Mission Impossible movie and admiring the great
CGI that made it look like Tom Cruise was swinging from a rope off the side of
the Burj Khalifa, and then seeing the "making of" video and realizing he _was_
swinging from that rope.

~~~
cletusw
Here's the "making of" video. Holy crap, he's insane.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16BFrEBZQS4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16BFrEBZQS4)

~~~
Stratoscope
And after a hard day of movie making, what better way to relax than to sit
barefoot on the spire that tops the building!

[http://www.tomcruise.com/blog/2013/06/13/tom-cruise-
sitting-...](http://www.tomcruise.com/blog/2013/06/13/tom-cruise-sitting-on-
top-of-the-burj-khalifa-real-or-photoshop/)

I can't say I've ever been a real Tom Cruise fan, but man, I have to admire
his guts.

------
ChuckFrank
That rigging looked outrageous. All I saw was one guy holding onto the models.
If a model slipped and fell, that guy won't have stood a chance in holding
them back.

Hopefully the person was themselves hooked into the roof, and the rigging was
hooked into the roof, with him acting on belay. But I certainly didn't see
that.

I'm so glad nothing bad happened, but this seemed irresponsible from a safety
and technical standpoint.

(I mean even the camera rig looked flimsy.)

~~~
vonwong
Everything was doubly tied down, don't worry :) The person holding was there
simply to maintain tension the entire way as the models walked from the side
to the edge. As for the camera, the flex comes from the metal itself but it
was also extra secured with straps in the event that anything fell loose.

~~~
awor
As someone who has spent a fair bit of time working on swingstages, towers and
other structures, there's a few things that immediately caught my attention.
Yes, I'm going to be that guy.

\- As this appears to be a photoshoot for SmugMug, of SmugMug employees, does
Smugmug carry the proper class of insurance on their employees to allow this
sort of work? In most cases, unless additional coverage was purchased from the
insurer, your general "office worker" insurance will not cover this type of
work.

\- Was the building owner aware of the photoshoot, and did they have the
insurance to cover this sort of work?

\- Does Von Wong's liability insurance cover this sort of work (especially
since he's not tied off when jumping around on the ledges)?

\- I don't see a shock absorber attached to the harness, whcih is necessary to
limit the forces on the person to 900lbs (body belt) or 1800lbs (harness) in
the even of a fall. I also note that the harness looks like it's a climbing
harness NOT a proepr fall-arrest harness (the exception I saw was Hell-girl).
Generally you must wear a full body harness rated for fall-arrest and be
attached using the back D-ring when doing this type of work.

\- The tie-off point, while not visible in the video/photos, (generally) must
be a certified tie-off anchor or rated to 5000lbs arresting strength. Using a
travel limiting device _may_ have been acceptable, but there doesn't appear to
be one.

\- The webbing making a sharp angle across the roof flashing is also not
ideal, as you should be anchored from above in almost all cases.

\- Was there a rescue plan in place? Had someone fallen, what would have
happened?

If all of these things were taken into consideration and properly addressed,
then thank you for doing your due diligence, otherwise I feel like this has
OSHA violation written all over it.

I imagine the city of San Francisco also has regulations when suspending
equipment beyond a buildings footprint over an active street.

People die regularly from improper fall arrest systems. You were not just
doing a fun photo-shoot, YOU were responsible for these people's lives, as
well as the lives of anyone walking below.

I will acknowledge that my knowledge relates to the Canadian labour code, but
the US regulations appear to be similar.

[https://www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/fall_protection_...](https://www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/fall_protection_info.html)
[https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/falls/fallarre...](https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/falls/fallarrest.html)

~~~
anigbrowl
If this was insured (which I doubt) and a claim was made, the insurer would
turn right around and sue Von Wong (as the organizer of the project) for gross
negligence. On the preponderance of the evidence stand (ie >50% probability)
that obtains in civil litigation, they would almost certainly win.

I don't like making all these negative comments. But I've seen people get
seriously injured in entirely avoidable accidents, and could give you numerous
examples of fatal accidents on film sets off the top of my head - whenever I
read of one I study it carefully to ensure I never make a similar mistake.
Film and photo shoots are fun, exciting environments, precisely because they
often involve unusual locations, activities, or situations. But because
everyone is participating in the pursuit of some larger goal (producing art of
some sort) the people in the roles of director/producer have an outsize
responsibility, because they are temporarily invested with significant
authority to the point that people will put their common sense and personal
judgement on hold, akin to Stanley Milgram's famous electric shock
experiments, due to the blend of unfamiliarity and micromanagement that the
endeavor necessarily involves.

[http://deadline.com/2014/04/sarah-jones-midnight-rider-
film-...](http://deadline.com/2014/04/sarah-jones-midnight-rider-film-
production-safety-fear-710287/)

------
shostack
Being a part of these sorts of shoots is one of my favorite perks of working
at SmugMug, hands down. Reminds me of art school when my friends would try to
convince me to be a part of their crazy photo shoots, except this time the
photographers are quite a bit better.

To date, Ben has...

\- Lit my head on fire

\- Taught me to breathe fire[1]

\- Stuck me under a rain machine[2] while I lifted a giant tire infested with
spiders

\- Popped a balloon full of curdled green milk over my head

Never a dull moment, and there's always an amazing photo afterwards to
immortalize the moment (for better or worse).

[1] - Photo of me breathing fire courtesy of Subversive Photography who
grabbed this shot while I attempted to spin in a circle.
[http://shostack.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Office-
Hijinks/n-NGr8t/i...](http://shostack.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Office-
Hijinks/n-NGr8t/i-HdCJH8G/A)

[2] - Me lifting a giant spider-infested tire while I have freezing "rain"
pour on me. Amazing how it turned out. [http://shostack.smugmug.com/SmugMug-
Office-Hijinks/n-NGr8t/i...](http://shostack.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Office-
Hijinks/n-NGr8t/i-5vKv7k9/A)

[EDIT] The links are just to individual photos of me on my personal SmugMug
site because I think they're incredibly cool--nothing promotional.

------
mootothemax
What it is about our minds that make it so easy to imagine being up there, on
the ledge, looking down, maybe with one foot over... and my palms are sweating
heavily already.

It's a bit like having a child; I now spend nights worrying about the most
ridiculous events that could happen to my daughter.

Why do our brains like to torture us like this?

~~~
anigbrowl
Because 99.9% of the time those inbuilt reflexes are what keep you and others
alive; people who don't have them get Darwin awards.

I was glad to see they used safety equipment, especially since they were
working with non-professionals, but I was annoyed that they didn't mention it
in the article and played it down in preference of the breathless self-
affirming schtick. Safety protocols matter, because they're what makes the
difference between everyone going home after having done something difficult
and had a life affirming experience, and going home with PTSD or not going
home at all.

The photographer standing on the corner of the building with no safety so he
can take a selfie? _Fuck him._ Doing that on your own or with similarly risk-
tolerant friends? OK, enjoy your dangerous hobby, I can appreciate your
enjoyment of it as a spectator and relate indirectly to high-risk situations I
am comfortable with. Involving an audience of people (on the rooftop) while
demonstrating such a disregard for safety? Horrible passive-aggressive
behavior that burdens everyone else with significant mental and legal risk,
not to mention his employer.

If this took place in a professional context (eg of a commercial film/photo
shoot) that would be an instant firing offense of the never-hire-this-person-
again variety. If you're going to do dangerous stuff in a group of mixed
ability, you have an ethical and professional obligation to adhere to and
demonstrate the highest safety standards. If you want an entourage to witness
how badass you are (as opposed to leveraging that through your creative work)
then you're a walking liability.

Edit: I see Von Wong arrived here at the discussion. I'm going to leave the
above up unedited, not to be personally insulting but because it expresses my
sincere annoyance about this issue.

~~~
smacktoward
_> If you want an entourage to witness how badass you are (as opposed to
leveraging that through your creative work) then you're a walking liability._

Yeah. It's like the old joke: what are every true redneck's last words?

"Hey y'all, watch this!"

~~~
linuxlizard
"Hold my beer!"

------
goshx
If those are real pictures, why did you make them look like if they were
created in 3D? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

------
gtCameron
I get the chills just looking at those photos, no way you could get me within
20ft of that ledge. Really cool pictures though, congrats on pulling it off.

~~~
busterarm
My vertigo kicked in hard and I almost rolfed.

------
redindian75
Quote: "I wanted to capture the fearlessness of superheroes – without a green
screen or cheap special effects."

But they were all _tethered with safety harness_ and then evidence was removed
in photoshop. How is that "magical, one mis-step would mean end"?

Sorry, but I thought the premise of this was daredevil stunts from ordinary
people, but this is no different than greenscreen or cheap special effect
which u seem to deride.

~~~
smacktoward
It's like riding a roller coaster or doing a bungee jump -- you know
_intellectually_ that you're strapped in tight and therefore safe; but your
lizard brain, the part that operates at a deep subconscious level, doesn't get
that message, so it's still scary and/or thrilling.

~~~
Retra
That's great, but watching someone else ride a roller coaster doesn't
communicate that feeling at all.

------
startupfounder
Professional Rigger here (SPRAT & IRATA Certified) & logged thousands of hours
as a safety supervisor around the world mostly on wind turbines, but also on
bridges & buildings (Guggenheim, MetLife Stadium, etc.).

Photos of my team and friends:
[http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/07/arts/artsspec...](http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/07/arts/artsspecial/07FLOATER/07FLOATER-
superJumbo.jpg) [http://news.auroraphotos.com/wp-
content/uploads/petzl.jpg](http://news.auroraphotos.com/wp-
content/uploads/petzl.jpg)

I have a bone to pick with the safety setup for this photoshoot. SmugMug staff
should be concerned...

There are 2 types of fall protection rigging setups for this corner of the
building scenario - Fall Arrest & Fall Restraint. Both have to do with the
ability of the person to go "over the edge" in the case of a fall.

Fall Arrest is when the person has fallen over the edge of the building and
they are arrested with the rigging equipment from falling and hitting the
pavement 1,000 feet below.

Fall Restraint is a rigging system that restrains the person from falling over
the edge in the first place.

From the video and photos it looks like Von Wong is a bit of a wahoo adrenalin
nut[0] and though he and the team had good safety intentions, there are some
serious safety issues I would like to point out. And next time please contact
me so we can do this safely.

I am going to use this photo[1] and this photo[2] to point out safety flaws.

In these photos I see an Anchor on the I-beam (photo[1] left image red
friction protection), a rock climbing harness for Body Ware, I see the
connector with webbing, but I don't see a deceleration device. A fall arrest
system consists of 4 items ABCD: Anchor, Body Ware, Connector & Deceleration
Device. From this setup i'll assume the rigging plan was to build a fall
restraint system to prevent their subjects from falling over the edge because
there is no deceleration device.

There are just a few problems with this logic that lead to serious safety
concerns. As we can see in photo[2] there is:

a) a hand holding the webbing "preventing" a fall, this is not a fall
restraint system, it adds slack to the system that increases forces in the
case of a fall (this is more apparent in the .gif:
[http://www.vonwong.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/1-VbF...](http://www.vonwong.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/1-VbFFSy7FKJHCNTgayZTQeQ.gif) You can see the black
rope coiled up and moving, not cool. EDIT: It looks like the subject is
attached via lanyard to the "safety" guy. In the case of a fall he is in the
system preventing himself from performing a rescue.

b) the subject could fall off either side of the "point" of the building as
the anchor is not around the I-beam in the frame, but out of frame to the
right (making the length of the lanyard longer and increasing the force of the
fall especially if she fell to the right)

c) that granite edge acts as a knife and webbing doesn't stand a chance being
dragged across it if they fall over the edge,

d) because this is a fall arrest scenario there are serious forces on the
system if the subject falls over the edge, especially if they are standing up!
(the higher they are above the anchor the more potential energy they have).

These are really interesting photos, just when you do them be smart and rig it
correctly.

[0][https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/O32BWH3s0qkaA...](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/O32BWH3s0qkaAheqLeEQXSqxZkrVUsQrZ6GnuPKXM9fW9uzryjJM9MCXFS0qoaBW)

[1][https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/CG8GkzYscTabC...](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/CG8GkzYscTabCnMS6nGxjgiE71vqOp6d0w03OkAnSJ69NY02vbVTFiuPjU7JkPpV)

[2][https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/8NXYjfzC6a5RV...](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/8NXYjfzC6a5RVcQTXuS2gP88SfIQA2372T66ZtMmJVhPndWTPLQCOp0O7WSTgksw)

~~~
ChuckFrank
Thank you so much for doing a more detailed examination of the shoot, and
offering your services in support to the photographer and to SmugMug. The
safety on this shoot was terrible, and I'm so glad, considering how trusting
and nervous the employees were, that nothing bad happened. But this type of
reckless shooting, either for film, photo or video, needs to be addressed.
Thank you for bringing this up as well. People don't understand how easy, and
unforgiving a slip can be in conditions like this.

I was at Pinnacles National Monument when a lead climber swung around and
pivoted out of his harness, resulting in a fatal fall. The whole process took
about a second. It literally happened in the blink of an eye, and there was
nothing anyone could do to stop it.

------
state
Can't help but think of this guy:

[http://humzadeas.tumblr.com/image/105666488345](http://humzadeas.tumblr.com/image/105666488345)
[https://vimeo.com/104818943](https://vimeo.com/104818943)

------
vonwong
If anyone has access to cranes in san francisco, I'd love to do a round #2 and
take things even further haha :)

This rooftop took quite a bit of scouting around to get but man was it worth
it. Love SFO, wish I could visit again!

~~~
markdown
OT: Your announcements section mentions a workshop in Fiji, but the links are
broken.

------
Springtime
Reminds me of Li Wei's famous skyscraper photo sessions [1] in which the
artist is seen being kicked off the top and suspended outside a window,
amongst other similarly daring photographs. Only a minimal use of post-
processing to simply remove the fine wires attached.

[1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stMg-
DxhHCA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stMg-DxhHCA)

------
seccess
Seeing these pictures reminds me of this video of workers climbing a 1700ft TV
tower [0]. Its pretty intense even to just watch, that is some real-world
superhero courage right there!

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4Xk1mEwmI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4Xk1mEwmI)

------
edw519
2 things made me sick today, the code I have to maintain and looking at these
pictures.

I never thought I'd say it, but I think I'll stick with the code.

(Great job, OP!)

------
jedisct1
This is awesome.

I'm a huge huge huge fan of Von Wong's work. He takes things to the extreme
and produces unique and mindblowing images.

And I had the opportunity to meet him in person, the guy is fascinating and
very humble.

------
davidw
Yikes. I don't like going beyond about the 6th story of a building, let alone
something like that. I have a wicked strong fear of heights.

------
bstar77
I'm sure I could handle challenging heights if I had to in an emergency, but
looking at those pics is giving me vertigo in my chair.

------
BorisMelnik
something about this makes me incredibly nervous and provokes a lot of
anxiety, I can't even look at these photos. that said, I'm sure that is the
sort of emotion they are looking to elicit, well done!

~~~
azinman2
They're also giving me vertigo

------
CyberDildonics
Pretentious Photoshopped bullshit with no reason anyone couldn't do the same
thing. A harness and a camera on a pole. Truly the Davinci of our time.

