Hello and sorry for our delayed response.
This is, without a doubt, your strongest assignment yet. You’ve managed to find a relatively large geographic space and organize it based on shape, balance and color. Your progression from your first assignment to this assignment is very visible. You have a much stronger sense of design in your new work!
Let’s begin by discussing some of the most important design and technical elements you’ve incorporated into your composition. For starters, the 4 walls of your image are perfectly clean. There is no awkward amputation and you’ve cut off your objects in a very seamless manner.
Next, you’ve silhouetted the shot which has allowed you to place emphasis on the beautiful colors and textures in the sky. It also helps you exaggerate some of the features of the building. For example, the areas around the bells allow the audience to see through into the background. I love this feature.
Thirdly, you’ve incorporated a person into the shot in a very natural way. This helps humanize the composition and gives the image a stronger story and even a sense of social commentary. Without the person, this would just be a pretty photograph. However, with the person you forced your audience to think about the thoughts of the lone individual. I like how there is only 1 person as well. It gives the photograph a very isolated almost meditative quality. From a design standpoint, having only 1 person also helps you add emphasis to their presence. Great work.
Next, I love how you’ve used informal balance to help enhance your composition. The majority of the “weight” of the image is on the left hand side. The hilltop and the church take up more space with their “blackness” than the “black” areas do on the right hand side. The result is lopsided (i.e. informal) balance which generally make compositions more dramatic and interesting.
I do see your hesitation about keeping the column on the right hand side. Without it, the informal balance would be further exaggerated and possibly even slightly more interesting. But I like it with the column as well. Most importantly, if it helps you tell your story then it’s important to include it.
Overall, you’ve done a spectacular job with this assignment. I’m looking forward to seeing your next assignment!