A new perspective can change everything. Yes, looking at things in a more positive light can be helpful for our mental health. But that’s not what we’re talking about today.
We’re talking about literal different perspectives — seeing something we think we know from a different angle, or in a new context. Let’s dig in.
Those things are tall.
We all know that giraffes are famously tall creatures with famously long necks, but this is really underlined when you view them from the perspective of someone who’s about to get stomped.
Driving on the sky.
Urban planners often use mirrored surfaces in cramped, vertical environments to create a larger sense of space. Here, they’ve created a weirder sense of where cars are actually supposed to drive.
Family reunion.
This photographer — no, not Spider-Man — used a bunch of six-inch action figures and some clever perspective tricks to make this look like a truly life-sized photo.
Name that landmark.
You’re looking at a hugely identifiable landmark in the world, but in this photo, it is tough to identify. It’s the Eiffel Tower, viewed from directly underneath.
Cyberpunk Toronto.
This shot of Toronto offers a dizzying look down to the streets below. It’s tough to appreciate just how tall skyscrapers are from the ground, but photos like this definitely help.
PS2 graphics.
This plane is cruising over Illinois at night, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that Illinois is simply a poorly-rendered ground texture that only gets blurrier the closer you get.
My sense of perspective is broken.
This building has some fun angles. Up high, apart from its weird windows, it’s pretty normal looking. But the angle from street level makes it look like it’s sinking into the ground.
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Summer versus winter.
If you’ve ever seen one of those super high trail marker signs during a summer hike, it’s a good indication that you’re in an area that gets crazy snowy in the winter months.
Big humpback.
Blue whales are the biggest creatures that have ever lived on our planet. Humpback whales, like the one in this picture, only grow to about half the size of blue whales and yet, as you can see, they truly are gigantic. Props to the photographer for capturing this at close range.
Reaching out.
Michelangelo’s David is a familiar sight, possibly the most well-known sculpture in the world. Never having seen it in person, I always figured it was more or less human-sized, but this photo shows its true scale.
Wait, what?
There’s a normal-looking festival in the foreground and normal-looking boats in the background, but I just can’t get my head around the way things are laid out in relation to each other.
Center of the solar system.
It’s always interesting to see new perspectives of the sun that truly show how huge it is. How huge? Two planet earths could comfortably fit inside that solar flare.
Man-made mountain.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is a massive, massive object. This image of a regular-sized person sitting at its base makes it look like a nearly endless mountain of stones.
Trip back in time.
Today, we know the Sphinx in all of its full-bodied glory. But at the time this photo was taken in the late 19th century, most of the big cat was buried in sand.
Commerce in one picture.
This is a unique look at a big container ship, hauling thousands of tons of goods in its colorful containers, as it passes underneath a suspension bridge.
Vertigo time.
This aerial photo of the Burj Khalifa makes my palms sweat even though this image makes the massive skyscraper almost look smaller than it really is.
Neat trick.
In movies like Elf and The Lord of the Rings series, directors employed practical effects to make subjects look larger or smaller. This is how forced perspective works. As you can see, the effect is convincing.
Don’t fall in!
This clever photo taken in a Moscow Metro station uses no trickery. It’s just been shifted around. From its default angle, it shows a girl lying on a regular train platform. From this angle, it looks like she’s falling into a chasm.
From the air and the ground.
Though it looks like a winter landscape from the air, this is just a photo of a frozen puddle from the user’s backyard.
Autumn leaves.
By taking this pic through a fallen autumn leaf, this photographer created the illusion of a tunnel. Though I do believe if I walked into a tunnel and it had this texture on the wall, I’d think it was alive.
Worst case scenario.
Because I couldn’t see the web, I didn’t realize the spider was hanging in front of the camera. For a moment my worst fears were realized and giant spiders were alive and real.
Making improvements.
I’d almost consider this an improvement. A giant Lego man standing guard over the city, protecting the people.
Man’s best giant friend.
My dream pet used to be something more uncommon like a large lizard or a sphinx cat, but now I’ll settle for nothing less than a giant, giant dog.
Behind the glass.
There’s something extremely claustrophobic about this. Those packages of hotdogs are braver than I am.
Four colors, one photo.
The comments on this photo were filled with initial doubt before they realized how it worked, and I felt much the same. It’s a great shot!
Another perspective.
In case that photo of the pyramid from the base wasn’t enough of a reminder as to how big these suckers are, here’s another.
Field friends.
This is a field mouse next to a dime, showing off how tiny these guys really are. In my head I always picture mice as just a little smaller than rats, but they’re in totally different leagues.
Looking up.
A bit of a different angle (ha) here, but this uploader’s four-year-old niece draws trees from her perspective, giving this shape! Really reminds you how much bigger everything seems through the eyes of a child.
Stacked against.
Again showing a different take on perspective, this elevator capacity plaque shows not only what it could withstand, but what we compare to!
Cutting a swath.
This pic shows how planes don’t just fly through clouds — they literally cut through them. It’s pretty cool to see how a plane has nearly bisected this cloud cover.
Jigsaw.
The way these buildings move with the street makes it look more like they fit into each other like puzzle pieces, when in reality the one on the left is much closer.
Preserved.
You might recognize that colorful, shiny object as a toucan’s beak — and that’s exactly what it is. Even after a toucan dies and decomposes, its beak stays intact for a long time.
