Last week in the Cloud Gardens park in Toronto the Parkour Toronto group were jumping around. You might be familar with parkour if you've seen the latest Rogers ads in Canada, or the BBC ones a few years ago in England.
Shot of the day
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Comments
JD
Nice candid shot. I like light and the distribution of it (more contrast to the top and then flatter towards the bottom).
Not too much a fan of parkour. Works well for the urban photography scene, its bit like "the new breakdancing".
2006-02-28
Peter
"I belive i can fly"...great
2006-02-28
The Sky is Drunk
Nice!!
2006-02-28
Patrick
Cool shot - I think the clarity lends itself to parkour. It enhances the control the guy is trying to practice in his fall.
2006-02-28
RyanT
That stuff is really cool, only seen it once before. Good shot, looks good in B&W.
2006-02-28
joel
I really enjoy the concept of parkour, I have practiced something similar in the forest when I was younger. I think I will try it in an urban environment. JD I would not chalk up parkour to a fad because it isn't. The true definition of parkour is "moving through ones environment with as little resistance as possible" Which can define the movement of water, animals, plants, and much more. Although, like everything there is an external side to parkour which you describe as "the new breakdancing".....just don't make a generalization based on this. I agree with JD about the light distribution. Well done Miles.
2006-02-28
Robert
Great motion and tone; have to go w/ everyone else on the cool distribution of light/dark.
Check it: the olympic logo's behind the railing in the top right of the image: perhaps a subtle link of the jumper and sports?
2006-02-28
Miles
Thanks all.
There were a few of us photographing there and I was trying to capture someone in front of the big olmypic sign.
I agree it's not a fad, I think what makes it a fad is when it is pushed into the mainstream with the Rogers advertising, MTV featurettes, etc. The practice will continue after the hubbub has died down.
2006-02-28
JD
joel: I wasn't by any means trying to say its a fad.
I was just making a simple comparison on how the public perceive things.
By "the new breakdancing" I'm just refferring to how people use parkour in other mediums: photography, video etc. like Miles mentioned.
And for every one who isn't involved and just sees it in that form it can easily seem a "fad" and will, one day, like most things, eventually be replaced with something new (unlike Chuck Norris!).
2006-02-28
Andy
Great image Miles, but I just hate it when I have to scroll!
I'm only messing ;-)
2006-02-28
Miles
Haha, I meant to mention that! I thought this was one of those rare images where the scrolling (if you had to) was ok :)
2006-02-28
luke
I like the b&w. without description though I wouldn't know where he jumped from or was jumping to, or whether he was going to die. Without the textual context the photo doesn't make sense, doesn't tell a sotry by itself is what i'm trying to say imho. May have shooting it wider have given more context within the photograph? Or does context even matter?
2006-02-28
Miles
That's interesting Luke, I'd have to say that if anything I'd prefer the shot without context at all. You're right that it wouldn't tell a story then but is that so important?
In some cases the story is what makes an image interesting, but sometimes the lack of a story is what captivates the viewer. Perhaps without context this image would force the viewer to think more about what it is, how this instant that's captured came to be. With an explanation the image is less dynamic, you don't think about the how or the why, you just think about the "oh".
Now I wish I had left off a description altogether. I know it's not the greatest photograph so I think I gave away some of its value by explaining it :D
2006-02-28
Carter Rose
wow thats a heck of an image. Really nicely captured and I dont need a story at all to make me captivated by the shot. Nice work indeed!
2006-02-28
Micki
Makes me want to jump too. Great photo!
2006-03-01
Raymond Tse
Great sense of movement - well captured
2006-03-01
Alicia
This is a fabulous photograph. It doens't look humanly possible. How high up was he?
2006-03-02