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Made you look twice, huh? That's what my tip for this month is all about--looking twice, maybe three times in order to see things differently. It's about taking a different perspective before we go "click." 

There is a tendency to see the world; to put our camera to our eye as we are standing up. My suggestion for this month is to take a different perspective; take a different view; see life from other than eye level. 

I covered this topic about a year and a half ago, but it bears repeating. So much of what I see online, and through real-life observations, seems to be taken at eye level. So, let's see what life looks like when we don't.

For decades I have followed this idiom: In order to stand out, either photograph something no one else has, or photograph what others have, but in a different way.  

Here are some examples that will hopefully motivate you to break away from your habits or to get outside your comfort zone.

A simple morning table setting can trick the eye when seen from above. There are several ways of achieving this, but let me share my technique. I increase my ISO in order to get a fast enough shutter speed to hand-hold the camera without introducing hand movement. Obviously, having a lens with vibration reduction helps, but we still need to make sure we don't get any hand movement. In this case, I shot with a 17mm lens, ISO 800, with a shutter speed of 100--well within the limits of hand-holding a 17mm lens. The rule of thumb I use, when shooting without a tripod is: the shutter speed should be equal to, or greater than, the focal length I'm using. In this case, a shutter speed of 100 is definitely greater than 17. 

 

This image of picturesque Telluride, Colorado was taken from the side of a mountain, as thee the gondola went down toward town, almost right over my head. This has been used more than once in magazines because of its unique perspective. Yes, photos taken of Telluride from street level are nice, but this adds context to the town--it tells a story. You can see the context in which the mountain ski town was built. 

I placed the camera and tripod right up against the aspen on the left, looking straight up. I couldn't even see what I was getting. I was just estimating. But, with the lens set at 24mm, I knew I was going to cover a wide enough area. 

Let me share a warning regarding this type of scenario. When you are going to aim your camera toward the sky, as in this scene, assume that the bright sky is going to trick your built-in light meter and it will surely underexpose your image! So, make your adjustments in advance. For this shot, taken at Aperture Priority (f/25), I overexposed the image, prior to getting the shot, by +2 2/3 stops! Yes, that dramatic. As you can see, it worked. So, please be careful with situations like this one. 

License plates and wheels have one thing in common: travel. So, it occurred to me that I just had to include the two together in the same image. However, the perspective and juxtaposition of the bicycle wheel and license plates on a wall, coupled with a lamp and a window, gave me a surreal subject matter to play with. Now, you might be wondering, how is the bicycle wheel so high, in relationship to the window? Well, it was actually firmly and securely locked in atop someone's car. Perspective.

For this image, I'm looking up at part of a locomotive engine, instead of taking the photo straight on where I could see the entire engine. The warning above reads: "Keep off roof." 

Can you tell what you're looking at here? This is inside the Utah State Capitol dome. My tripod was about a foot from the floor aimed straight up. Those lights in a circle and the yellow light in the middle are part of a giant chandelier that hangs from the ceiling. When seen from below, it is totally out of context and thus creates a brain teaser. The brain cannot tell us what we're looking at. 

This might look like it was taken at eye level, but my camera on the tripod was roughly two feet from the ground. I placed it that low in order to pick up the wolf reflection in the small puddle. The wolf is actually part of a mural painted on one of the support beams under a downtown city bridge. Again, not at eye level. 

This is my last example of different perspectives. I was on the ground for this shot. I was capturing, not so much the dancers, but the essence of the dance as I took this shot from an uncomfortable position on the hard walkway during the event.  

So, again, get out of your comfort zone and see life from a different perspective. It will enhance your portfolio, add new tools to your toolbox, and will help you see a different side of life. Enjoy.

I am always available for one-on-one ZOOM lessons. Contact me if you're interested.   

Eli Vega, Photo Artist