I got my new phone after the motherboard in my last one Crashed and Burned with my photos on them...some, not yet backed up.
The first one captured my eye for the continuity and balance. The three persons all have something on their shoulders that got from upper left to lower right, the three "different" hair styles (L-R: straight dark color; straight and colored; then dark and a weave?). The tan color is repeated in the bench, the right shoulder on the person on the left and the far background.
I like the second photo shot from the hip as whimsical, the only thing in the photo that is "straight' is the warning sign: DANGER Do Not Climb. I like that I didn't capture the entire piece of Art as I feel it adds to the "Danger" aspect of the story.
For the final photo...another off kilter shot works for me, as if the bench is a Scale. I also like how the photo starts off very subdued earth-tones, than then a wild splash of color that is the Water Park. I also was pleasantly surprised by the DoF in this photo.
Really love the first one especially those colors.
So sorry about your phone, Dean - especially the loss of photos.
#1 Your subject and all elements were made to order - all those elements you mentioned plus the curving of the bench with the ground!
#2 You're right about not showing the entire piece of artwork. You create mystery of what's up there that's exciting enough to risk the "Danger."
#3 I do like the contrast of subdued and wild tones!
Good eye on all of these!
Thanks for posting and including the story behind the images Dean.
I like image #1 overall, but my anal mind wants to rotate it a little. I understand the crop may be to tight to allow this though unless you expand in PS.
In #2 shooting from the hip offers a more dynamic and what I feel a more 'active' viewpoint that I enjoy. I might be tempted to try cropping from both left and bottom just to add more emphasis on the structure, but enjoy the story this tells.
There is something about the way mobile phones handle DoF that doesn't appeal to me if I'm honest. I have played a little with 'portrait mode' on my iPhone and feel the results just go overboard. I think there may be a way to make this more subtle (and natural looking) but I haven't really looked into it.
What phone are you using? Did you use a special 'mode' for #3? The blurring on the back of the bench, girl's face etc seems odd when other elements on a similar/more distant frame are sharper.
One thing I have noticed with my iPhone (15 pro). I like to use a wise angle lens when shooting street, but the iPhone introduces a LOT of distortion. I have yet to test outside of this specific scenario (ie shooting from the hip whilst in motion) but it may be worth being aware of.
Samsung S20 in my "new" phone. As far as I remember I was shooting in just plain Photo...but if something changed while I was jumbling around...maybe something changed.
I did try the "Night" setting last night to see what it looked like.
It will never take the place of Film, SLR, DSLR, or Mirrorless when it comes to low-light.