The first exercise in Dividing the frame is about balance which is fundamental in composition. The course materials tell us that the idea of balance is fundamental in composition and that it applies not just to where a subject is positioned but to every kind of arrangement. Unequal elements in a photograph can still balance because of their positions in the frame. For this exercise I printed off a number of images, looked and marked where the main parts were and then drew the weighing type scale suggested. I did not find this exercise easy but some of the photographs were much easier to analysis in this way than others. Hopefully this concept of balance is something that I will understand and apply more as the course progresses.
The next exercise was about positioning the horizon. I took six photographs with varying horizons from top to bottom across Cardiff Bay. None of them really appealed to me as the sky and sea are very bland and add nothing to the picture, which was taken around the middle of the day. If I had to choose one I would choose number four as this appears to me to be more balanced. My preference here would be to do a letterbox crop and reduce the amount of sky and sea. What I have learnt from this exercise is to consider more radical positioning of the horizon - up or down - as there are situations where this action may produce a better result.