Lens-Artists,  Photographic techniques,  Themed galleries

Gallery: the view from above

January 20, 2025 / 58 Comments

I walk, I look, I see, I stop, I photograph

Leon Levinstein

There is little I like more than the chance to see the world, or at least a tiny part of it, from a different perspective. And that often means getting high up to look down. Whether from a plane, a hot air balloon, a tall building or a mountain (preferably reached by cable car!), things always look different from above.

For this week’s Lens Artists challenge Ritva asks us to ‘shoot from above’, so I’ve revisited my archives to find examples of many of the occasions when I was able to do just that. Please click on any image to open a slideshow with captions that will tell you where each was taken.

My feature photo was taken in Pyongyang, North Korea. A flotilla of small boats was out on the river collecting weed that had washed downstream during a storm the previous day. Because I know I’ve used this several times before, I’ve given it a different edit this time, using Nik Efex Pro’s vintage filter. When I took a similar photo of the same river from the Yanggakdo International Hotel a few days later (see below) they were still out clearing the weed!

Flying high

Whether in a plane or helicopter, it can be interesting to point the camera more or less straight down. That’s not always easy from large commercial jets, so smaller planes offer better opportunities.

A lot of hot air

I love the sensation of flying in a hot air balloon! So far I’ve done so three times and hope to do more. The first was in the UK and inexplicably I don’t seem to have any photos from that flight, but I have plenty from our flights in Namibia and Marrakesh.

Climb every mountain

Of course when up a mountain I point my camera at the views, trying to show the beauty and extent of the surrounding landscape. But it’s also interesting to angle it downwards and get a different perspective on nearby scenes.

Up on the roof

As with mountains, so with roofs and tall buildings. While the expanse of a cityscape can be impressive, there can also be interesting shots to be had immediately below the building.

At my feet

However, we don’t actually need to fly or to climb anything in order to ‘shoot from above’, we just need to look down at our feet. That’s something I do quite a lot, as I’m prone to clumsiness and can easily take a tumble on uneven ground or pavements! But when it comes to photography, it can pay off.

58 Comments

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