Bird’s Eyeview by Shirren Lim

Captured from the Lotte Observatory Deck in Hanoi, this striking perspective offers a unique bird's-eye view of the city below. By utilizing a glass floor panel, the photographer creates a sense of vertigo and immersion, transforming the urban landscape into a geometric tapestry of light and movement. The decision to document this from a high vantage point emphasizes the vastness of the city, while the clean, top-down composition highlights the intricate patterns of the streets. This image is award-worthy for its creative use of perspective and its ability to turn a casual observation into a compelling, abstract study of urban life.

Bird’s Eyeview by Shirren Lim
Samsung handphone
Copyright Β© Shirren Lim
Light & Composition Photo of the Day

Shirren Lim

REGISTERED PHOTOGRAPHER

Born in Penang Island, Malaysia, in 1970, Shirren Lim is a Jakarta-based photographer who discovered her true passion for the craft in 2009. Her work is characterized by an intense, earthy aesthetic and a focus on portraiture that seeks to capture the sincere, uncovered expressions of humanity. Inspired by the iconic imagery of Steve McCurry, she strives to create powerful, world-changing photographs that have been featured in various international web and printed publications.

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10.9/20
RESONANCE
SCORE
64/500
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Award Reach | Reviews
8,337 views | 6 Reviews
Award Winner Photo of the Day
Award Date October 2, 2018
67.0
AWARD SCORE
Value 12.0
Clarity 13.0
Composition 18.0
Style 12.0
Skill 12.0
Photograph Location
Hanoi, Vietnam

AWARD SEGMENT | TAGS

Night Photography
Shirren Lim Photography

Resonance Score Breakdown

Transparency in Award Scoring

Transparency Note: The resonance score (10.6/20) is calculated based on social engagement metrics collected before the award announcement.

Social Shares
5.0/5 points
1,032/1,000 Social Share
Page Views
5.0/5 points
8,337/2,500 Page View
Reviews
0.0/5 points
0/100 Review
Submissions
0.6/5 points
64/500 Submission
Jury Score: 67.0/80
Resonance Score: 10.6/20
Total Award Score: 77.6/100

Expert Photography Reviews · 6

Kofi Asante Intimate Portraiture, Reportage & Lives Told Truthfully Expert Review
Looking down from the Lotte Observatory, I feel a strange, cold detachment. It’s a clever geometric puzzle, sure, but where are the people? I’ve spent my life chasing the warmth of a human gaze, and here, the city is just a circuit board of light. It’s technically sharp, but it’s lonely. I miss the grit of the streets. I’d trade all these perfect, distant patterns for one tired face looking back at me from the sidewalk.
Thomas Hargreaves Earned Photographs, Craft Discipline & the Long Wait Expert Review
A glass floor in Hanoi is a convenient vantage point, isn't it? One suspects the shutter was clicked between sips of a cocktail. It’s a tidy geometric exercise, certainly, but it lacks the grit of a photograph earned through hours of shivering in the dark. I’ve spent enough nights waiting for light to know when someone’s just passing through. It’s clever, I suppose, but it doesn’t cost the photographer a thing. I prefer my art expensive.
Santiago Reyes Street Photography, The City & the Unrepeatable Instant Expert Review
Hanoi from the Lotte deck is a dizzying grid, but is it the street? Cartier-Bresson hunted the pulse of the sidewalk, not the geometry of a map. I feel a strange vertigo looking at these tiny, blurred headlights, yet the human element is lost in the abstraction. One tenth of a second later and the traffic flow shifts, but does it matter? It’s a clean pattern, sure, but I miss the grit of the pavement.
Eleanor Voss Composition & Visual Structure Expert Review
The frame functions as a rigid grid, pinning the urban sprawl into a flat, geometric plane. It’s a calculated descent into vertigo. The street lights act as anchors, preventing the composition from dissolving into chaotic noise. I’m genuinely unsettled by the way the glass floor forces the eye to confront the void. It’s a rare instance where the technical constraint of a phone lens doesn't compromise the structural integrity of the vertical axis.
Rafael Ortega Shutter Technique, Motion & the Cinematic Single Frame Expert Review
The vertigo hits first. It’s a dizzying, top-down tracking shot that refuses to blink. Lim caught the city’s pulse in a single, geometric exhale. The light trails aren't just traffic; they’re the rhythm of a sequence that never ends. I’ve spent hours staring at these glowing arteries, and honestly, it makes my stomach drop every time. The cut would’ve been a mistake. This is the frame the editor keeps because it’s already perfect.
Amara Diallo Portrait, Human Story & Narrative Portraiture Expert Review
We look down at Hanoi, and it’s as if we’re watching a city breathe through its veins of light. Shirren Lim hasn’t just captured a map; she’s captured the collective pulse of thousands of lives moving in the dark. I feel a sudden, dizzying vertigo, not from the height, but from the sheer weight of all those stories rushing beneath our feet. It’s a beautiful, lonely hum. This is a photograph that asks to be returned to.
Reflections on this Photograph
By Amelia Cross

The Weight of Distance

There is a specific silence that lives in the height of a city at night. It is not the absence of noise, but the absence of the human scale.

Read the reflection →
By Isabelle Park

The World Below

I spent an hour this morning standing on my balcony, just watching the cars crawl along the street like tiny, glowing beetles. From up here, the noise of the city fades into a low, steady hum that feels almost like breathing.

Read the reflection →

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