It’s a carefully composed busy scene here. On the foreground I placed the log on the lower third of the frame, and, on the mid-ground, a mini waterfall on the upper third.
I showed some branches with leaves on the top and the left edges to frame the scene and show more of the environment.
Together the log and the branches add depth to the scene by adding the foreground layer. The fact that the log and the branches in the foreground were in the shade helps direct the eye to mid-ground which is a brighter area in the scene. If they were in an open shade just like the rest of the scene, the frame would have had too many elements competing for viewers’ attention.
Inside the Frame series dissects how a photo incorporates composition patterns. Every photo is annotated to clearly reveal each photo composition technique used when framing the scene. Studying these photos will help you take better pictures yourself.