I frequently experiment with various perspectives when trying to be creative with my photography. There are many well-known techniques to use, like “get low,” “get close,” “get closer,” “look behind you,” etc… I enjoy the challenge of seeing things in different ways and find it very gratifying when I capture an image I like.

This was taken one day while we were being tourists in Helsinki. Walking through a park, we approached this sculpture. It is a monument honoring the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and is made up of stylized organ pipes cascading up & down like a wave. I found it interesting, but not necessarily photogenic.

Then I noticed some small children playing underneath the pipes. They were running around and having fun, but occasionally one would stop and look up from underneath the monument…and it seemed to hold their attention. I thought to myself, there must be an good view from that position if the kids are stopping to take a look! The children left shortly thereafter and I walked under the monument. I had to crouch in spots, but I could see what the children saw.

Getting a photograph required an even lower position, so with the area clear around me, I lay flat on my back, used my widest lens and shot this from underneath the pipes. I suppose the “get low” technique is somewhat appropriate, but as the children inspired me to get into this position, I prefer thinking of it as “a child’s perspective.”