Look for contrasts: Patterns

Into the woods
Originally uploaded by James Jordan.

Contrasting elements tend to make for interesting photos. I was driving along looking for photo subjects late on an overcast day when I passed a wooded lot with lush green grass and a meandering creek. The contrast between the curving creek bed and the ramrod-straight tree trunks immediately caught my eye.

I took a u-turn and set up for several shots. This was taken just off the roadbed and approximates what I saw from the car as I passed it. I used a slight telephoto setting (70mm on a 35-70 zoom lens) to help compress the space between the curves of the creek.

I wanted the curved lines of the creek to dominate the shot, so I composed it to make the creek fill up the photo frame making the trees a secondary element.