Do not try at home! Crazy pictures by 'urban explorers'
- Published
A group of photographers in countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are getting caught up in a new hobby called urban exploration which involves seeking out abandoned or hidden places in cities. The results are sometimes other-worldly like this underground tunnel shot.
The photographers have a real eye for finding a different angle for their photographs, but they've also been criticised for going into dangerous places and not using the right safety equipment.
This is Kirill Vselensky popping his head out of a huge clock face in Minsk in Belarus.
Some of the photographers ask for permission to access unusual buildings like power plants to take their photos.
"Urban exploration photography shows our cities from the inside," says Olena Zinchenko, who helped to organise an exhibition in Kiev last year. "These pictures are alive because they reveal the city from a completely different perspective which few have the privilege of seeing."
One of the photographers, known as General Kosmosa said: "Some say that in this day and age the unexplored can only be found in outer space, in ocean depths or in some caves. But in fact, it's right next to us." Here Vadim Makhorov has captured how unusual a freight yard looks from a high angle.
"This is probably my best find, a gypsum mine in eastern Ukraine. An inconspicuous door led to an underground city with its own traffic, street signs and 20-metre-tall caves," says Yaroslav Segeda.