30 Photos That Provide A New Perspective On Famous Things, Places And Events (New Pics)

The Alternate Angles subreddit is dedicated to providing new angles “of iconic events and places in history beyond the traditional well known photos and videos.” And clearly, the group has been quite successful in their mission, as the community has amassed an impressive 160k members over the last 4 years. Some common flairs used in the group are Meta, Movies and Landmarks, but there’s no shortage of what you can find in the sub. From a photo of the inside of a piano to behind the scenes pics from famous film sets, Alternate Angles has it all.

We’re big fans of Alternate Angles here at Bored Panda, so this isn’t the first time we’ve featured the subreddit. And lucky for us, we were previously able to get in touch with the community’s moderator team to hear more about how the group came to be. “The origins are really quite simple,” one mod told Bored Panda. “A comment in another subreddit of famous pictures suggested that someone should create a sub of different views of famous pictures, which led to the creation of r/AlternateAngles by u/Murkon and another Redditor who [has since] decided to step down.”

We reached out to u/Murkon again for this piece, and they were kind enough to provide some updates on how the community has been since they last spoke with Bored Panda. "Subreddit has continued to grow!" the mod shared. "We get a lot of great submissions."

We were also curious about this moderator's favorite posts that they've seen shared in the community. "My personal favorite was originally that one taken before the Beatles crossed Abbey Road... But I've seen it so many times now I look forward to new stuff." The mod also shared how shocked they were when they realized how small the Mona Lisa is from an Alternate Angles pic.

As far as what Alternate Angles pics u/Murkon would like to see next, they told Bored Panda, "I would personally like to see more famous landmarks. Those are always really interesting because the AA pic often shows background info left out of the pic you're used to."

As far as the concept of r/AlternateAngles goes, the moderators say it can be summed up by a single rule: “Limit all submissions to alternate views, or unique perspectives, of well known locations, items, people, and events. An alternate angle of your kitchen does not qualify but Gordon Ramsay's kitchen does."

And while it can be difficult to determine what exactly “well known locations” means, the moderators have a pinned post in the subreddit that aims to clear up any questions members might have. “A relatively well known person, place, event or item is something most of our viewers will recognize or know of,” the mods explain. “By well known item we mean something like the Mona Lisa (although seriously I think we can all agree we've worn that one out), the statue of David, a famous mummy, the handgun of a well known general, J.K. Rowling's writing chair, or Betty Crocker's apron.” They also kindly request (with a smile) that members please stop sharing photos of the Mona Lisa.

When it comes to moderating this community, the team previously shared with Bored Panda that it can be tricky trying to weed out photos that have been edited or faked. So sometimes they have to rely on “the fantastic and active user base to help out with those."

And while it’s challenging for the mods to choose any of their favorite photos from the group, as they “could have spent hours culling through thousands and thousands of posts to pick out more,” they shared a few of their favorites with us. One of the Lincoln Memorial before the reflecting pool, behind the scenes of the recording of Leo the Lion (the iconic MGM mascot), an alternate angle of one of the biggest tragedies in US history, and a rare view of the back panel of the Mona Lisa.

The last time we spoke with the Alternate Angles team, the moderators provided some insight into why the group continues to remain so popular over the years. “We are a unique subreddit that offers pictures that you don't normally see in other subs or the internet in general," they shared. “I think the fascination of, for example, the back frame of the Mona Lisa, is something most people never get to see.”

The mods also noted that they focus on keeping content in the group relevant to a wide variety of audiences. “We generally don't allow pictures of cats, dogs, food, and generic houses with some spin, but require famous artwork, people, monuments, or events—something everyone will recognize from all the famous photos that are published, but not from the perspective of the photo posted in our sub."

The Alternate Angles subreddit is also fun for a wide variety of people because anyone can participate. The moderators explained that most of the photos shared “aren't from professional photographers, but instead by Joe Average with an iPhone instead of the latest and greatest digital camera.” Creativity is more important than having the best equipment. “It's those alternate angles that aren't well published that give people a unique perspective of a location, event, or artwork that they had never been made aware of,” the mods shared.

Although the sub is certainly not in need of any more Mona Lisa photos, the mods used this famous painting as an example of why the group is so great. "Everyone can go on the internet and see a picture or travel to the Louvre Museum,” they explained. “It was at an odd time while they were fixing the location that a few people could see the back side for the first time. The same could be applied to taking a photo of the Statue of Liberty looking straight up or a photo of 9-11 from an amateur that hadn't been published before. I think people are fascinated by that.”

And as far as what does well in the group, one moderator told Bored Panda, "Personally, I feel the quality of the photo has little to do with the popularity but rather the uniqueness of the photo and perspective. The centering of the photo, the proper color gradient, and the perfect focus have little to do with popularity. I think also it is very subjective as to what users are interested in, however, the more unique the perspective plays a large part into how popular a post is."

Is this list inspiring you to start taking unique photos of famous monuments and places near you? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box the next time you’re behind the camera, and keep upvoting the pics on this list that surprise you! Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see some alternate angle photos of next, and then if you’re interested in checking out Bored Panda’s previous publication featuring the same subreddit, you can find it right here!