Life is all about perspective.
So it’s no wonder breath-taking photos of Toronto are flooding social media like never before.
They’re literally screaming it from the rooftops. In case you haven’t caught on, we’re talking about those daredevils on your Instagram feed that are filling it up with crazy overhead shots of skyscrapers and city horizons.
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Think about it – no safety harness, no net below, nobody knows you’re up there until they refresh their feed hours later. It’s just you, your camera, and the clouds. Often times these photographers take trademark photos of themselves sitting on the edge, hundreds of feet above ground.
These picture perfect scenes can make anything look phenomenal, and Toronto photographers are taking full advantage of it. If you’ve been on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook anytime in the last year, chances are you’ve stumbled across these photos.
But this trend goes far beyond your typical photography hobby. Rooftop photography is (or has been) one of the biggest growing hypes in urban photography. Amateur photographers and seasoned vets alike capitalize on one of the city’s biggest trends. What was once known as (ironically) being an “underground photography scene” has now blown up, and with the click of button, so have many of its main players. Toronto-based photographer “jayscale” has proven his success with over 172k followers on Instagram double-tapping his beautiful portraits of Toronto and other major urban centres. Other Toronto-based roof toppers have found success through their passion – “ryanmillier” has 150k followers, “roof_topper”a 106k followers, and “Brxson” owns 67.4k followers.
Some of my favourite photos will be up for sale in print form this Thursday. Stay tuned. A photo posted by Toronto (@jayscale) on
Photographers who are new to the scene have also quickly picked up on this movement. Less than a year after first picking up a DSLR, Toronto-based photographer David Perry “pavidderry” found his rooftop calling. He gained a following – just shy of 10k followers – while averaging approximately 2k ‘likes’ per photo in less than 45 weeks of posting.
“The thrill of the chasing the shot is what attracts me, you’re always on the hunt,” said Perry.
With reward comes risk though, as Toronto police are cracking down on the photographers. Laws are in place so trespassers think twice before going on roofs. Other charges include mischief and break-and-enter, so keep that in mind before testing your luck with the law. Arrests are often made, and tickets (up to $1,000) are handed out to those who are caught.
For these Instagrammers, however, the thrill of being 15 to 50 storeys from street level can outweigh possible consequences, even falling to their death.
Day or night, sunrise or sunset, photographers are on the roofs of our cities. Banks, condos, hotels – any high rise structure that offers a view could be the home of a roof topper’s next photo shoot.
‘Cause if you keep looking, they’ll keep shooting.
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