Real-life spider-man who scales derelict buildings to take astonishing birds-eye view shots

These are the vertigo-inducing images taken by a real-life spider-man who scales derelict buildings to take astonishing birds-eye view shots.

Daredevil Dennis Maitland, 24, climbed into lift shafts, up former office blocks and over the edge of balconies to snap the incredible pictures.

And the professional photographer then sat atop the structures and took a birds-eye picture looking directly down.

He said: 'Everyone says they get this queasy feeling in their stomach after looking at my pictures.

'Others you can see start to feel symptoms of vertigo. I've even had a few people say to me that I'm crazy and my work must be a cry for help, which it definitely isn't.'

Dennis, who was born and raised in Detroit but left to study at university in Arizona, decided to return and document its decay following the demise of the motor industry.

He set about clambering up some of the run-down town's most decrepit sites and snapping a pic from the edge of its highest point.

He added: 'I wanted to capture a different perspective of Detroit. People have seen it from the ground and how buildings are left to ruin.

'But I wanted to show it from above, so decided to climb them instead.

'I can pinpoint through my scars which picture and what building it was taken on. They are like a catalogue in my mind.'

And incredibly, despite scaling to extreme heights, Dennis refuses to use safety equipment.

He said: 'I don't use any climbing equipment. I'm not sure the photos would have the same meaning or emotion if I had done it with safety equipment. They are much more raw this way.

'With that being said, I'm extremely cautious at all times. I rely on working with the fire brigade and police, so that I don't get arrested.

'And if I ever get a bad feeling about something I trust my instinct and backdown.'

Dennis took the first snap in August 2011 and hasn't stopped since.

He said: 'it isn't scary at all, thankfully I don't suffer from vertigo and never have.

'Normally I poke my head over the edge to ensure the view is what I want to capture then slowly creep over.

'While I'm on the edge my brain is only focused on being safe and getting the shot.

'I never look down as I take it, instead just looking at the camera and the shot.

'Usually it is a pretty fast process.'