Excellent job on your first assignment!
You have done done a job following the assignment. You noticed something in your world that you ignore on a regular basis and you managed to take an interesting photograph of that item.
The trick is try to and do this all the time. You want to see the world through this new “lens” if you will. Always be looking for ways to make the mundane more interesting in your photographs.
Technically, the second photograph could be improved on a number of levels. If you are going for an abstract and symmetrical look to your photo you want to make sure that A: you’re image is in near perfect symmetry and B: you don’t amputate.
A: I have attached an image that shows great symmetry. You don’t have to be perfect but your photo shouldn’t include weird angles or lines that are off…
B: Amputation is a common problem in photos in that people often cut off relevant parts of an image. In this case the top 1/4 of the square seems to be cut off.
Overall you’ve done a good job on your first assignment and I look forward to seeing how you do going forward.