Amateur photographers have often told me that they did not know what to photograph. They felt as if their photography was hampered by a failure to identify good subject matter. Our surroundings are filled with good photographic subjects. Often we fail to recognize it because it is something we see everyday so its photogenic quality is lost to us because of familiarity. We often exclude the familiar when deciding on a subject for our photography. If we do that, we miss opportunities to make good photographs that are frequently right in front of us as we pass them by.
One way to overcome not recognizing the photo opportunities is to practice selective vision. It is simple to do. When you are out on a photo excursion, limit your awareness to a specific type of subject matter. By excluding most of what surrounds you automatically concentrate your vision on what you are specifically looking for. In the accompanying gallery of photos I have selected only images that incorporate windows. I like windows because they are walls that you can see through. Often there are interesting subjects on the other side. There are a few samples in the gallery.
