Great work with this assignment. You’ve managed to take a larger geographic space and implement photographic elements that enable you to simplify the composition. You’ve used symmetry, line, color, reflection, layers and wise framing to help you draw your viewer’s attention into your photograph.
IN your first photograph you’ve used a limited color palette made up predominantly of gradients of green, blue and white. There are other colors that make it into your composition, but green, blue and white make up the majority of the color spectrum for this photograph. Other colors play more of a secondary role. You’ve also “bracketed” the composition using two ferns on each side of the frame. These act as visual “stoppers” helping to indicate the edge of the composition. Our attention is then directed towards the human activity in the middle of the frame. There is not a lot of depth in this photograph (in terms of foreground, middle-ground and background layers), but it still works nevertheless. Great work.
Your second image is equally (if not more) impressive. Again, you’ve used a limited color palette to help you simplify such a large geographic space. Earth tones (green and brown) virtually the only colors present in this composition.
You’ve also managed to include line and reflection as two creative photographic elements. The wooden lines of the walkway (foreground) help create a “leading line” guiding the viewer’s eye into the composition. You’ve also managed to double the weight of the bridge by incorporating its reflection. This also helps liven up the negative space that the still water creates.
My only concern with this image is that as a general rule of thrum you want to avoid having vertical lines in the dead cent of your composition. It’s not against the law, and what you’ve done isn’t wrong, but it contradicts the rule of thirds and it seems more distracting than if you put the foreground tree off the side. Otherwise it’s too pronounced, when I think the audience should be more focused on the bridge or the general composition. But instead the center tree is demanding too much attention.
Other than that, I love these photographs. Great work!