Happy Sunday! What a fun theme for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge as Ritva invites us to share some shots that were shot from above.

Let’s start with flowers!

I used to shoot my flowers from an angle to the side until last year when I began experimenting shooting from different angles – above and below. I will admit that this method doesn’t work with every flower but when it works, the photo will feel more like a portrait than a close-up. These are a few of my favorites – a red zinnia, an echinacea (cone flower) about to bloom, and a shirley poppy after it’s done blooming. All of my favorite flowers from the garden.

I saw Ritva’s photo of a crosswalk and it made me think of the crosswalks I shot in Japan. I live in the suburbs with little crosswalks and tall buildings. So it’s rare for me to spot something unique like a 6-way crosswalk. That photo was shot from Kyoto Station.

Of course, the famous crossing at Shibuya is also a 6-way but from my vantage point – second story of the Shibuya Starbucks – I couldn’t get the entire thing. Besides, it was more fun photographing the people than the crosswalk itself.

The third picture is from my photo archive and was taken from near the top floor of the Himeji Castle. I’m heading to Japan again in March and hopefully, I’ll make some photos then.

Finally, seeing Ritva’s photo of the escalator inspired me to search my photo archive for my one and only picture of an escalator, which was in Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak. I visited there in 2018. I remember having to go level upon level of escalator before reaching the terrace, which led me to the view of the island and its skyscrapers. It’s amazing how the view from above is so different than below.