El Farito - Please C&C

Hi all, could you comment and/or advise on the flow and composition aspects. I know exposure and colours are not exactly right, but I'm more interested to hear on the above mentioned aspects. I'm trying hard to learn something here .
Thanks...

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I don't know what it is, but it doesn't look right to me. Perhaps seeing a lighthouse, I'm expecting to see water or something.
The foreground/bird is OOF and I don't see a lot of texture from the sand, which may have added more to a sense of depth.
I may have gone for a horizontal composition on this one with the lighthouse off center.

Discounting the exposure and color balance, as requested -
The basic shapes are harmonious and well placed. The horizon is in the proper range (could be a little higher if you wanted). The offset of the lighthouse to the left of center is good. The only thing working against you as to what is in the image is the clutter of people in the middle ground. For a really attractive shot of this subject, all you need to do is to pick your time of day for better lighting and fewer distractions.

If you want the human element in the picture, you could pose one or two people in the scene to contribute to the mood.

Very nice composition, congratulations.

Tee Why and Bob, thank you for your input.
Bob, I have a question, would the seaweed be the object leading to the lighthouse or the lighthouse be the leading path, if a person was seating on the sand on the foreground?
Besides some personal preference, what would make one object be the stronger one when you have two to create the composition with? Is there a way to tilt the balance, composition wise?
Bob, I don't think I've worded my question properly, but somehow I think you understand what I'm getting at.
Anybody else wants to weight in, please do so.
Thank you.

Those are difficult questions. The line taken by the seaweed is definitely a line that the eye might be expected to follow - just as a dirt road winding through a farm or a stream winding through the woods or in a field. Lines definitely act as guides to the eye. Anything beyond that very general comment would be getting too subjective for me.

Regarding the composition of two objects - this and the composition of 3 objects are very profound topics in composition. The 3 object composition seems to be favored and you can do almost anything with it. When it comes to two objects, the composition is a bit more problematic, because you can get away with almost anything, but the mood that results or the tension that results may not be what you wanted. Objects tend to carry significance due to whether they are vertical or horizontal and whether they are large or small in relation to one another. Much has been written on these subjects, but very little of it can be considered as "rules".

My own personal opinions about the 2 object composition is that larger, heavier objects should be kept closer to center and be counterbalanced by smaller, lighter objects that are further from the center. For example, your large, heavy lighthouse is counter-balanced by the smaller but important group of trees at the right. Imagine the result if the two objects exchanged places - the picture would not be in "balance".

Bob, as always your responses are very insightful and I - as well as many in this forum - valued them.
Your perception captured my question precisely and it gave me some much more needed understanding.
Thanks again.