Taken on 18th January, 2009 in Flatiron, Manhattan, New York. Nikon D90, Exposure 1/40, Aperture f/5.0, Focal Length 52mm, ISO Speed 320. Show on Flickr.

I have written about wanting to push myself towards taking some more spontaneous photos, informal portraits that evoke a feeling from a scene.

At the same time however I want to acknowledge the pleasure I get out of forming compositions from patterns and textures of buildings and structures around me. Today I went for a walk not feeling particularly inspired or open to challenges. Instead I sunk into a routine I have long been comfortable with of looking up and around me through my lens, filling the frame with buildings and playing with proportions, symmetry, balance and layout until it something inside clicks and I trigger the shutter.

It wasn't until I got home later on and loaded up the pictures that I realised how happy I actually was with some of the results, and how others could have been improved. This daily process of taking, reviewing and selecting photographs to publish is great for reflecting on what I've been doing, and how to do it better.