This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots

Tripoto
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 1/37 by Le Voyageur
This picture was taken at the famous Statue of Liberty, New York

The series, taken over a period of four years, is called ‘Volte-face’ by British photographer Oliver Curtis, and it consists of pictures taken while pointing the camera in the opposite side, instead of aiming at the landmark. With a totally different perspective in mind, he favours the incidental over the monumental, and his inspiration for this came to him in 2012 when Curtis was visiting the Pyramids of Giza. He turned around and looked in the direction he came from, and was so fascinated by what he saw that from then on, he has never forgotten to turn around at some of world’s most photographed historic sites and monuments. And, that’s how Volte-face was born. He has travelled the globe, and is the creator of this series which is immensely popular despite the fact that none of the pictures have the popular landmarks they were taken at!

He told Creative Boom, “After walking around the base of the tomb I found myself looking back out in the direction I had arrived from, with the pyramid behind me. Intersecting the horizon under a veil of smog lay the city of Giza. Immediately in front of me and under my feet, the sand of the desert was adorned with an assortment of human detritus; litter, pieces of rusted metal, a large rubber washer and a torn hessian sack... I found this visual sandwich of contrasting colour, texture and form intriguing not simply for the photograph it made but also because of the oddness of my position; standing at one of the great wonders of the world facing the ‘wrong’ way."

Let's look at his work to see how it differs from the conventional pictures taken by photographers all over the world.

1) Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 2/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 3/37 by Le Voyageur
This is what he captured

2) Christ The Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 4/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 5/37 by Le Voyageur
This is what he captured

3) Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, Israel

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 6/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 7/37 by Le Voyageur
His picture

4) Mona Lisa, The Louvre, Paris

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 8/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 9/37 by Le Voyageur
His picture had someone looking at the painting opposite the Mona Lisa

5) St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 10/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 11/37 by Le Voyageur

6) Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, USA

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 12/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 13/37 by Le Voyageur
His click

7) Great Wall of China, Mutianyu, China

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 14/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 15/37 by Le Voyageur
This is what he captured

8) Reichstag, Berlin, Germany

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 16/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 17/37 by Le Voyageur
His image

9) Angel of Independence, Mexico City, Mexico

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 18/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 19/37 by Le Voyageur
This is what he saw when he turned around

10) Partheneon, Athens, Greece

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 20/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 21/37 by Le Voyageur
This is what is opposite this historic site

11) White House, Washington D.C., USA

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 22/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 23/37 by Le Voyageur
His picture

12) Stonehenge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 24/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 25/37 by Le Voyageur
His image

13) Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 26/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 27/37 by Le Voyageur
This is what he saw

14) St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Vatican

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 28/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 29/37 by Le Voyageur
His photo

15) Monument of Democracy, Bangkok, Thailand

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 30/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 31/37 by Le Voyageur
His photo

16) La Moneda Palace, Santiago, Chile

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 32/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 33/37 by Le Voyageur
His click

17) Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 34/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 35/37 by Le Voyageur
What he saw opposite the Queen's residence

18) Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 36/37 by Le Voyageur
Photo of This Photographer Points His Camera The “Wrong Way” At The World's Most Iconic Spots 37/37 by Le Voyageur
Opposite the historic Roman monument

Check out more of his photos on his website.