Why does a simple image like this work? Here are a few things I noticed.
1. Color theory – the easiest colors to play off one another are blue and yellow. Think of a rusty truck against a blue sky, or a sail boat with a golden sail against the ocean. Other colors that play off one another are green /magenta, and cyan / red.
2. Leading lines – the bench to the left of the frame is leading your view to the center of the frame. Use leading lines all the time in my photography. Super easy cheat, that can be found everywhere.
3. Change the POV – in order to get the bench in frame like I wanted I had to get lower to the ground which causes the foreground of the image to be more interesting since you normally don’t see life from that perspective. Get low or get high.
