Oh my! I will now post the photos I forgot to include above!
Notice how the roadway draws you into the photo and then out of sight. The movement is repeated in the line of the blue water and again in the mountain ridge. Those are good examples of forward motion as well as "repetition" which I haven't talked about yet. There's several elements, though, that you probably noticed. Those three lines converge on the cope of trees near the center of the photo which are blocking your view. There's another tall tree to the left of the front of the photo which stops your eye on that side too. If they had shifted their position to the left, maybe, they could have eliminated the trees which act as their focal point and gotten more of the reflection in the water, or, the clouds, maybe the distant mountains and sky, or, maybe all three as I believe they had intended. I think what we have is too many elements each vying for your attention and none that really captures it completely.
This is a perfect example of forward motion and using what's referred to as the "vanishing point," which is that point on the horizon where straight lines appear to converge. I think the textures of the stuccoed walls and the old red bricks are interesting in their simplicity and colors. The play of light as it frames the arches keeps your eye moving into it too. I don't know if that's enough to hold my interest or if I want something else to be in view at the end. I don't know, it's peaceful and pleasing and maybe that's enough.
Here's a good example of forward motion taking your eye around the curve and resting it on the pretty pink trees. From there your eye moves on to notice other elements within the photo. It's nice.
This is a good example of forward motion taking you to the sunrise. There's some lens flare, but, in this instance I think it adds rather than detracts from the overall composition. I would have edited out the four round flares, the big pink one, a smaller one and the two white ones near the horizon. Overall, a nice color touching the tops of the grass and the clouds are nice as they sweep across the sky. Notice that the edge of the plane with the rising sun begins in the top third and the sun is positioned in the right third with the tire tracks taking your eye up to it. Even the sweep of the clouds takes you to the rising sun again. A good photo for it's overall composition.
I'm going to break here and make dinner and then I'll post some examples of the other elements in our discussion.
Thanks!
