Photo Challenge: Looking Up

I was recently looking at photos from past vacations. While scrolling through the photos I noticed a common thread: a lot of the photos had been taken from a different perspective and I had not even realized it as I was snapping the photos on the trip. These particular photos that caught my eye were taken while looking up. I made a mental note to definitely shoot more photos from this perspective from now on.

While visiting Flagstaff, Arizona I took these two shots of some aspen trees. The first shot was taken looking straight into the aspen grove:

This second shot was taken looking straight up into the aspen trees. I love the effect of looking straight up as it adds a lot more interest to the photo.

Trish Dykes snapped this fun shot while on a vacation to Disneyland. It's a beautiful shot that not only included so many fun elements in Toon Town but also is a great record of the clear, blue California skies.

I snapped this photo while on a trip to Disneyland and because of the different perspective it ended up being one of my favorite shots that day.

Here are some tips for taking "looking up" shots:

• Squat down and tilt your camera up towards your subject
• Lay on your back directly beneath your subject
• If you're comfortably positioned in a chair, don't get up; just angle the camera up and snap away

After a trip to Italy last spring I came home with so many photos which I snapped while looking up. I of course took the Roman Forum and Colosseum shots but I'm more intrigued by some of these looking-up shots.

Restaurant signs are typically colorful and eye-catching. I like to snap photos of the different places we stop to eat along our journeys. When I look at this photo I'm reminded of the cool sea breeze of Newport Beach, California.

This photo reminds me of a fun drive down Route 66 with my kids and stopping at a landmark burger stop. I snapped this shot from my seat at a table. I was enjoying my tasty burger and sweet chocolate shake too much to get up!

Here are some ideas for cool "looking up" photos while on vacation:

• If you encounter rainy weather take a scenic shot of the sky full of ominous-looking rain clouds or maybe a rainbow if you're lucky.
• Take a photo of your favorite restaurant sign.
• While indoors at your hotel, take a shot of the stairwell going up or the beautiful lighting fixtures.
• Squat at the base of a statue and take the photo looking up towards the head; that makes a statue look super tall.

Have a great time on your vacation and don't forget to look up!