© Allen Birnbach

Study the commonplace and look for the extraordinary in your normal surroundings.  I was walking through an outdoor museum, and saw this doorway.  Certainly the vibrant color caught my eye.  And the strong geometric shapes from the iron gate added a wonderful repeating pattern.

But what else was going to make this a make this a image worth shooting?  What about the touch of color in the wood wall and how it created tension with the dominant green of the door?  Or the small piece of white wire hanging off the door lock, just out of site at the top left of the image?  Using the white wire adds new curving shapes to a straight line world, and showing just a small amount of it balances the yellow wood on the right.

So when you are out shooting, look for patterns that can add a strong graphic image and still give you opportunities to incorporate unexpected and delightful elements.

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