Architecture,  Monochrome Madness,  Photographic techniques,  Themed galleries

Gallery: up on the roof

March 25, 2026 / 27 Comments

I climb way up to the top of the stairs

And all my cares just drift right into space (Up on the roof)

On the roof, it’s peaceful as can be

And there, the world below can’t bother me

Up on the roof, Carole King & Gerry Goffin

I don’t think many of us have a roof we can climb up on to; I know I don’t. But the sensation of being up above the world is one we can easily relate to if we’ve ever been to the top of a tall building.

For Brian’s Monochrome Madness challenge this week I considered sharing images taken in such locations. But instead I’ve gone for a more literal interpretation, searching through my archives for images of animate and inanimate subjects found on rooftops around the world, from cats to crosses! I hope they demonstrate that it is always worth looking up while carrying a camera. You never know what you might see!

To find out more about Monochrome Madness have a look at the information on Leanne’s blog.

My feature image was taken in the Candelaria district of Bogota, Colombia

ANIMATE ‘ROOF TOPPERS’

Cat sleeping on a roof in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

At a chicha distillery in Los Capachos, near Santiago, Chile

At a vineyard near Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Peahen on a roof at a hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Stork nest with chicks, Silves, Portugal

Chimney pot gulls, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Crow on a roof in Twisp, Washington State

On the roof terrace of the Tour Montparnasse, Paris

Grass roofs on huts on Kvaløya Island, Norway

INANIMATE ‘ROOF TOPPERS’

Roof charms, aka ridge beasts, on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, Beijing

Ridge beasts on the Temple of Heaven, Beijing

Roof detail, Khadga Devi Temple, Bandipur, Nepal

On the Royal Palace in Patan’s Durbar Square, Nepal

Dome of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Thatched church in Machuca, a small village in the Atacama Desert, Chile

One of the iconic Liver Birds on the Liver Building, Liverpool, England

Legend says that if the birds fly away, the River Mersey will flood the city, leading to its destruction

Sculptural group on the National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria

Chimneys in Faro, Portugal, seen from the cathedral tower

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