| | | Living on the edge! Photographer perches on cliffs and skyscrapers around the world for extreme self-portraits With her legs dangling over the edge of skyscrapers in cities across the world, a photographer is going to extreme lengths to capture extreme images. Artist Jun Ahn can be seen looking out over New York, Hong Kong and Seoul, as well as perched dangerously on clifftops in Australia and Japan for her Self-Portrait series. Described by Jun, who grew up in the States, as 'a kind of performance without an audience', the heart-quickening shots have been displayed in galleries around the globe, and are due to go on show at the Christophe Guye Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland, later in the year. 
+13 Getting high: Jun Ahn takes a photo as she sits on the edge of a rooftop overlooking the high rise buildings in New York City Taking risks: The photographer's legs are pictured hanging over a cliff in Japan, and, right, on a bridge in Greece 
+13 High life: Artist Jun Ahn sits on the edge of a rooftop looking across Seoul, South Korea Jun, from South Korea, said: 'I am most interested in capturing those moments that pass too fast when watched with human eyes. 'I want to reveal the structure, system and beauty that are hidden in the world and can only be shown with a camera.' Jun, who is currently studying for a PhD in photography at Hongik University in Seoul, said her inspiration for the series came while she was growing up in New York. 'I was sitting on the edge of my apartment and looking over the cityscape. I had a thought that suddenly my youth was coming to an end and I could not figure out the future,' Jun said. 
+13 Perched: The photographer's work, including this shot looking over Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea, has been on display in galleries around the world On the edge: Jun perches on top of a building overlooking Hong Kong. The images are part of her Self-Portrait project 
+13 Down Under: Jun Ahn stands on a clifftop overlooking the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road in Australia 'I sat on the edge and looked down, and there was a sudden change in my perspective on life and death, present and future. 'The vision of cityscape I was witnessing was not real for that moment. I felt the illusion of beautiful buildings was just like the future or ideal which can never be reached. 'Then I looked down. What I was actually standing on was the empty space. It was the "present" for me. So I took a picture of my feet. That was the start of my project.' And Jun is clear that her works are about far more than just showing off the beauty of a city skyline. On going project: Ahn, pictured in Seoul, South Korea, and, right, in New York, takes images while perched on cliffs or skyscrapers 
+13 Jun Ahn sitting on the edge of a rooftop overlooking Seoul, South Korea Don't look down! Ahn pictured on the ledge of an alcove in Italy, and, right, overlooking Hong Kong 'I place my body at the edge of landmark structures or places that have personal significance such as my apartment and my friends and take self-portraits,' she said. 'I explore fear, pleasure, and tension within that situation. I move my body at the edge of the building until the memory card is full. Then I take a picture of my feet like a ritual of the performance.' 'The space presented in my works contains questions about our perception. 'In this era of tall building used as hotels, office or luxurious living place, many people do not feel fear of heights and even prefer to live there because they perceive that environment as a "beautiful skyline view.' 'This is because people see psychologically what they want to see and perceive what they wish to perceive. 'However when they look down at the same place they feel fear of heights, because they perceive the space instead of a projected perception. 'From my perspective, the horizontal vision is a kind of illusion.' | | The edge of reason! Adrenaline junkies take their chances on 8500ft-high 'swing at the end of the world' as volcano ERUPTS
If the thought of riding a rickety wooden swing over the edge of a huge drop wasn't scary enough, imagine trying it during a volcanic eruption. Captured soaring into the air, 8,530ft above seal level, these adrenaline junkies got more than they bargained for when Mt. Tungurahua suddenly erupted - mid swing. Aptly named the 'Swing at the End of the World' at Casa de Arbol, near Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador, the precariously built contraption consists of two pieces of rope and a single wooden seat protruding out from an old treehouse. 
+6 Chris Morris takes his turn swinging whilst Mt. Tungurahua erupts before the group evacuate the area to avoid the poisonous ash cloud 
+6 Check out that cloud, man: One of the group, Greg Zegas, swings out whilst Mt. Tungurahua erupts in the background 
+6 Boom: A huge ash cloud blows out of Mt. Tungurahua as it erupts, spewing out flames After catching wind that the active volcano was 'spitting', photographer, Sean Hacker Teper, 21, and his friends decided to race to the top of the hill on their All Terrain Vehicles to get a better look. Although the group anticipated glorious views of the surrounding area, the group didn't expect to witness the volcano spurting out clouds of ash. Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano then spewed a six-mile (10-kilometer) column of ash after a powerful, five-minute explosion that shot pyroclastic material onto its northern and northwestern flanks. The 16,480-foot (5,023-meter) volcano, nearly 90 miles (140 kilometers) south of Quito, revived itself earlier this year with eruptions that affected a third of Ecuador's provinces and temporarily closed a regional airport. 
+6 Whee! Tourists and locals take turns on the End of the World swing while the volcano rumbles away 
+6 Check out that cloud, man: One of the group, Greg Zegas, swings out whilst Mt. Tungurahua erupts in the background Ecuador's geophysics institute said the blast in question occurred at 6:10 pm local time and was followed by a second, four-minute explosion and five lesser tremors. The once-in-a-lifetime moment couldn't last forever and Sean his friends had to quickly evacuate the area due to the poisonous ash cloud heading their way. 'The scene was crazy, we had rented ATVs to drive up the hill to the end of the world swing and had no idea that the volcano was active,' said Sean. 
+6 Precarious: The swing at Casa de Arbol, near Banos de Agua Santa, Ecuador, consists of two pieces of rope and a single wooden seat protruding out from an old treehouse 'I got a text from my friend saying that the volcano was spitting, so we kicked the vehicles into high gear and hurried up the hill to get there fast as we could, although we also received a text from our student advisor to not go near the volcano. 'Once there, it spat twice before finally erupting - the first two times were incredible and absolutely mesmerizing. 'The noises from the eruption lasted a few seconds each and were very loud, we were all in shock.
'It was definitely a once in lifetime moment, we were lucky to be in Baños during the weekend that it erupted, and even luckier to be on the swing during the actual eruption. 'It was such a thrill, I think we yelled "we just watched a volcano erupt" about ten times each, it's fair to say we were super excited.' Tungurahua has been erupting sporadically since 1999. In 2006, a pyroclastic cloud killed four people and left two missing. |
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