I don't want to pick on the author of those photos, but I think it does show some of the danger in working with the suspension with the springs in place. While the shock absorber may keep the spring from flying across the room, any slip on the jack or position of the pan could lead to more than one crushed finger I think.
Shawn's right that this method is in at least one manual - I know my Haynes has it, but even the Haynes manual says to use extra threaded rod to guide the spring pan down off the a-arms and I don't see that happening on the web photos.
I'm convinced spring removal is the way to go here, especially if you are renewing anything on the a arms. I made a similar setup to what Randall showed for a compressor - easy to make and works well.
Randy