Is this real....

[Bindii]

or is it a hoax do you think?

This is a case of photographer photographs photographer. The following photographs were taken by photographer Hans van de Vorst at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The descriptions are his own. The identity of the photographer in the photos is unknown.

I was simply stunned seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock IN the Grand
Canyon. The canyon's depth is 900 meters here. The rock on the right is
next to the canyon and safe. Watching this guy on his thong sandals, with
a camera and a tripod I asked myself 3 questions:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h222/Bindiime/Others/1-3.jpg

1. How did he climb that rock?

2. Why not take that sunset picture on that rock to the right,
which is perfectly safe?

3. How will he get back?

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h222/Bindiime/Others/2.jpg

This is the point of no return.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h222/Bindiime/Others/3-2.jpg

After the sun set behind the canyon's horizon he packed his things (having only one hand
available)
And prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes.
At that point he had the full attention of the crowd. After that, he jumped on his thong sandals...The canyon's depth is 900 meters here.

Now you can see that the adjacent rock is higher so he tried to land lower, which is quite steep.
And tried to use his one hand to grab the rock.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h222/Bindiime/Others/4.jpg

We've come to the end of this little story. Look carefully at the photographer.
He has a camera, a tripod and also a plastic bag, all on his shoulder or in his left hand. Only his right hand is available to grab the rock and the weight of his stuff is a problem. He lands low on this flip flops both his right hand and right foot slips away... At that moment I take this shot.

He pushes his body against the rock.
He waits for a few seconds, throws his
stuff on the rock, climbs and walks away.img

Edit (stubbsy) Sorry Bindii, but our forum guidelines don't allow you to embed images in which you don't own the copyright. I've changed these to urls

[Pa]

absolutely amazing....i wouldn't go that far to get the perfect shot.

[Old Bob]

I have seen this series of shots some time ago, and when taken from a different angle, doesn't look scary at all. As it is with all photography, it depends on where you stand.

Bob

[ATJ]

Obviously someone that listened to Gary and replaced his zoom with a prime. Now he has to do his zooming with his feet.

[chewlinyip]

I have seen this series of shots some time ago, and when taken from a different angle, doesn't look scary at all. As it is with all photography, it depends on where you stand.

Bob

Even so - thats dedication to get the perfect shot!

nice find !

[devilla101]

f****************************** me Thats all I have to say. This guy must really hate using photoshop!!

[Grev]

Another photographer caught him at another angle, and the gap apparent isn't a gap at all, I saw this several months ago.

[ATJ]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/canyonleap.asp

[Greg B]

You can see the reveal at the end of this article...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/canyonleap.asp

If you click on the last photo you can see a much larger version.

Still a risky jump, but minor risky rather than major risky.

When the photographer - Hans van de Vorst - originally published the photos on flickr, he presented them as showing an amazing feat of
stupidity, although he was obviously aware of what was just outside the frame.If you Google "Hans van de Vorst at the Grand Canyon", you
will find lots of reading about the whole thing.

[Bindii]

Still a risky jump, but minor risky rather than major risky.

I still wouldn't do it though... thats still enough of a drop to injure yourself... or get stuck... and knowing my luck I'd bounce off the ledge and plunge to the bottom of the canyon...

Thanks guys!

[stubbsy]

Bindii

Good to see I'm not the only one this got . HERE is a post a little over a year ago from me with the same shots. Gotta love the way emails circulate and resurface

[Matt. K]

Bindii
Men with long lenses gotta do that jump. It's a boy thing.

[mansunzz]

ok i will admit i am gutless now. should have done his Job hazard analysis before he even tried it. Nevertheless not recommended for anyone.

[gooseberry]

Bindii

Good to see I'm not the only one this got . HERE is a post a little over a year ago from me with the same shots. Gotta love the way emails circulate and resurface

Peter... hehehe

And this is my post HERE about 5 months before yours on the exact same thing...