Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #276: Looking Up, Looking Down

Published on by Yinglan

Happy Sunday! This week, James from Jazzibee is guest-hosting Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #276 and he’s picked a great theme – Looking Up, Looking Down.

As a first-time visitor in Japan, we had to visit all the touristy places. Unfortunately, those places were just it – touristy. There were crowds everywhere we went. Tour guides waved their little flags, nudging the tours along. Being from a sparsely populated area, the visit was a shock to my system as the crowds made me feel suffocated, sometimes to the point of hyperventilation or suffocation.

Looking over the photos I took during my visit, I found that many of the photos were taken with camera pointed upward to avoid capturing the crowds and, well, people. If I ever do visit Japan again, I would be visiting the rural spots.

I wouldn’t say all my “looking up” photos were to dodge the crowds, there are places that just require you to look up. In my opinion, I think the Osaka Castle looks better at this angle and I’d bet more people spent time looking down from the top of the Umeda Sky Building than from the ground up. After spending almost 5 years studying civil engineering, I became somewhat fascinated by building structures and living in a place with only a few plain-looking skyscrapers, seeing the different shapes and sizes of skyscrapers is always a treat.

This photo comes to mind when I think of “Looking down”. A boat cruise was included in our 2-day tourist pass in Osaka. The moment we got onto the boat – The Santa Maria – I headed for the top deck as one can see more on an open-air deck. As I walked around the crowded deck, trying to find a good spot, I spotted this mermaid statue at the port below.

I remember at the time, I purposefully took the picture from the back, thinking it would come in handy when I need a photo for a theme-challenge. I never got to see the front of the statue as I had already forgotten about it after the 45-minute boat ride.

Last but not least, though I don’t like crowds in general, I do enjoy people watching. It’s quite interesting and it’s something that you’d never know what can happen.

This is Shibuya Scramble Crossing, by the way. It’s a well-known crossing. People all over the world come to see and experience this crossing. Having crossed this crossing, I found it a bit chaotic for my taste but it was sure fun watching from the Starbucks across the street.

18 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #276: Looking Up, Looking Down”

  7. I thought it was interesting that you started looking up and finished looking down. I think that says as much about your personality (in a positive way) as the pictures tell of your many experiences. 🙂

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    Reply

      1. haha! I think I’m more of a straight ahead photographer, though I do some of both. What I don’t do is get down on the ground and shoot straight on or lie down and shoot up. Getting up looks pretty awkward. 🙂

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