dimitri daniloff photographs aerial parkour athletes mid-flight

dimitri daniloff photographs aerial parkour athletes mid-flight
all images courtesy of dimitri daniloff

for the skill and risk required in parkour — a movement discipline where athletes propel themselves from place to to place using high speed and momentum — professionals require an incredible understanding of discipline, control and knowledge of themselves. these characteristics motivated photographer dimitri daniloff to capture a series of images which freeze extraordinary moments from the ultra intense sport in time. with kundai kenji murapa, brand ambassador for new balance south africa and director of sabotage elite parkour, as the subject, daniloff seizes a split second into a single frame — extreme altitude jumps off towering structures, whirling flips from storey-high staircases and mid-flight flings across adjacent concrete beams. ‘the idea I like behind parkour is that it’s not about going beyond your limit and taking a risk’ daniloff describes, ‘it’s more about knowing exactly what you’re able to do’.

seemingly flying across two adjacent beams

a time-lapse shot illustrates all the different moves the parkour athlete made to scale the stairs

an extreme altitude jump off a towering building

jumping above the surface of the fountain

scaling above the streets

mid-flip, the parkour athlete spins in space

jumping over a concrete railing

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