Sometimes the sky becomes the subject of a photograph, even when your camera is pointed straight ahead. Walking along this boardwalk in Monte Gordo on Portugal’s Algarve coast, I was fascinated by the enormous clouds building up above the dunes. The wooden path led my eyes straight toward the lone building in the distance, but it was the dramatic sky towering above it that made me stop and take the photograph.

Converting the image to black and white brought out the contrast between the bright clouds and the almost black sky above them. It also emphasized the lines of the boardwalk, drawing the viewer deeper into the scene.

It’s moments like these that remind me to look beyond the streets for photographic inspiration. Sometimes all it takes is an interesting sky, a few leading lines, and the decision to stop and press the shutter.

More of my photography can be seen on my blog “Streets of Nuremberg“