October 2023 Photo Contest: Unexpected Perspective

Question

I'll (cocomac) be running the photo contest for this month (October).

The topic is "Unexpected Perspective", meaning photos where the perspective of the image is unexpected or confusing in some way.

The contest will end at the end of October (UTC time). The following rules apply (credit to Willeke, but slightly modified):

• Up to three photos per answer. Photos in the same answer should be of the same object, may be a different perspective.
• You can make up to three posts (attempts).
• Do not delete posts if you don't get votes: you posted it, stand by it. (You have two more attempts if your first one doesn't work out.)
• All submissions should have a line with when and where the photo(s) was/were taken, along with a description of the subject.
• The photo has to be taken by the person who posted it, or by a travel partner (needs to be named).
• Keep it nice, CoC-compliant, non-offensive, and non-NSFW.
• If you have people recognizable in the photo you have to have their permission to post the photo, or make them unrecognizable.
• If you disagree with a photo, please consider leaving a comment on it or bringing it up in chat. For the purposes of judging, only upvotes will be considered; downvotes will not affect the score of the photo.
• The photo may have been taken any time.
• If there is no tie for the highest number of upvotes at the end of the month, the winner will be announced then; if there is, the voting period may extend beyond the month.
• If you'd like to suggest a theme for a future photo competition, please add it to the list of possible photo competition topics. Also, you can join us in chat to help us make the decision on which topic to choose.

Answer 1

Fish's view – keeping an eye open for anglers at the mooring.
Taken by me in November 2006 on the River Great Ouse, UK.

So, it's the reflection in the water, inverted.

Answer 2

Mt Rushmore from the sculptor's studio

The American monument was built by the master sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, actually sculpting in this studio at the mountain's foot, then workers transferred it 12:1 onto the mountain through a very specific process. This was necessary because the exact end of the mountain had to change many times to account for different things, mostly rock fissures only discovered after carving and blasting. This picture shows Washington's profile in the studio, and the amazing result through the sculptor's window.

Taken by me, June 2023

Answer 3

A view up on the tower of the Svētā Ģertrūdes baznīca in Riga, by looking down onto the canvas of a painting in progress.

Riga, Latvia, September 9th 2023.

Answer 4

We ❤️ Eddy G.

Edmonton Green shopping centre, North London.
Forced perspective.

This cannot be seen in real life as it appears here. It was forced using a long lens from about 150 metres away, picking carefully between lamp posts, traffic lights, cars, pedestrians etc. The bike is really 20m in front of the sculptures, the bus 50m behind. There is a big green electrical/telephone cable box directly in front of it & a slew of deliveroo scooters usually blocking it. It faces a roundabout with no pedestrian access & a raised centre that can't be viewed over - it really is in the least useful position to be seen properly by visitors.
After about 40 minutes of trying to get a good shot of it, I'd given up & was leaving the scene. I'd crossed the main road… then took one final look back over my shoulder & saw I might be able to squeeze something from that far away. This was the result.
It's heavily-cropped & has tilt-shift added, which gives it a sort of 'toytown' look.

The council have since moved the installation even closer to the big green box, so now you couldn't even repeat this shot.

This is what it really looks like, with a standard wide phone lens…

Answer 5

I'm guessing this isn't necessarily what the intent of the topic was, but I still think it fits...

The view over Tel Aviv beach from the Sheraton Hotel, rendered as a 'Little Planet' Panorama. May 2016.

Answer 6

Here is a large statue of a small seed. Specifically, the helicopter seed of a maple tree which is common to the surroundings. This photo was taken in the Kurpark area of Wiesbaden, Germany last July.

Answer 7

Here's a perspective confusing in some way: a selfie I took (or at least I tried) in March this year in Comino, Malta. At the end I like the mix of the abandoned interior and the surrounding landscape with the car, but also those stickers must have been there for a load of years!

Answer 8

St Paul's Cathedral, reflected in a rather nice metal sculpture next to Carter Lane. Taken by me in early Feb 2020.

Answer 9

I got a little "unexpected perspective" when I flew into Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.

This is the entire airport:

This is the baggage claim:

Look at all the stuff around you:

I laughed out loud when we landed. I really was not expecting such a tiny little airport. My perspective at the time was "well, you're here, so that's worth something".

Pictures taken by me, October 2015.

Answer 10

Reflecting on freedom
Taken by me in Paris, France in September 2012.

@MattAllegro's answer reminded me of this photo.