
On the Roofs: Above and below —
Shanghai's skyscrapers seen from the then-unfinished Shanghai Tower

On the Roofs: Above and below —
"There's no philosophy to OTR, we are just a small group of photographers, who like exploration, interesting places and some different countries," Raskalov tells CNN.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
Simply put, Raskalov (pictured) bought a camera and after that thought, "maybe I'll try to climb on rooftops."

On the Roofs: Above and below —
Their exploits allow them to see cities from entirely new perspectives

On the Roofs: Above and below —
"After (Russia) we traveled because Russia for us was finished and we thought it wasn't a bad idea to try something really kind of amazing."

On the Roofs: Above and below —
The first time he went up, Raskalov says he was a "little" scared.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
He's since become used to the climbing, and now says it is "routine."

On the Roofs: Above and below —
"I'm usually scared not about heights but about police. Sometimes we have to break into buildings."

On the Roofs: Above and below —
Security at some landmark buildings, including the 1,227-feet (373.9-meter) Central Plaza in Hong Kong know their faces and to bar them entry.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
On the Roofs (OTR), a loose collective of photographers from Moscow, have made it their mission to shoot thrilling, often beautiful stills and video from the rooftops of the world's tallest buildings.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
OTR use no safety gear when they climb.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
Roskalov says they've climbed thousands of buildings in something like 50 countries.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
The climbers made headlines last year when they scaled the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt -- and later apologized when they were accused of disrespecting the ancient monuments.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
Roskalov says there's also some skepticism surrounding the veracity of what they're doing. It's not hard to see why; some of the footage is mind-blowing.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
He says there's a lot of interest in their work, and despite being apolitical, groups like the organizers of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protest movement have contacted them.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
They've been reaching the rooftops of the world's skyscrapers for the past five years, and have shot videos from Egypt to Belgium, Shanghai to South America. Pictured here is a shot from Jerusalem.

On the Roofs: Above and below —
As well as going up, they also go down, trespassing onto subways and exploring the subterranean sides of the places they visit.


