The SLR Camera as an Inverted Periscope

Maybe I’m learning a little about photo composition, or maybe I just think too much, but I’ve noticed that sometimes the precise angles I see with my eye are not what the camera captures.
I think I’ve figured out why and how it can be useful.
With a single lens reflex camera, an “SLR,” you actually get to look through the lens at what you’re shooting, thanks to some mirrors and prisms that pipe the light up to the viewfinder like an upside-down periscope.
But when I bring the camera to my eye, which I’ve positioned as I want the shot captured, the lens is an inch or so below the viewfinder – resulting in a lower viewpoint and a photo that is composed slightly differently.
You can adjust for this and get the shot you want, and you can also use this technical quirk to your advantage.
I was shooting a baseball game from behind the centerfield wall. I wanted to get shots into the batter’s box using a long lens but there was an opaque covering over the fence and the top rail was just a little too tall for me.
So I turned the camera upside down and used what I’ll call “The Derrick SLR Periscope Effect” – using the difference in levels between the viewfinder and lens to give me a little extra height. Now admittedly it was a bit of a pain going over dozens of upside down pictures on Photoshop back at the paper, but I got some good shots.
And I can think of other times this might be useful – such as spot news events like shootings where you might not want to expose your entire head to take a photo, rather preferring to just stick out the lens to get the shot without getting shot.