Clarity+Art Whatever No. 12

So it's been a while since I posted. A lot has happened to me artwise in the past year. Before graduation, I received three scholarships, two for study at Birmingham-Southern and Memphis College of Art, and a private one from the Hoover Arts Alliance. Due to financial troubles, I was unable to go to either. In October, I was in my first outdoor art show. It was a great experience, but somewhat of a disaster. So I've just been livin' life and working lately. Which has caused me to not pay attention to my art as much. It's been a while since I've painted and my drawing skills aren't looking too hot. But I'm trying really hard to start back up. After posting this, I'm going to start on a piece, thanks to some new found inspiration. But as for the picture in this post, I have no idea. I took this in Helena, a town about ten minutes away from where I live. There's this lovely waterfall, that's apparently lit up at night, and I decided to take a picture of it. Of the three shots I took, I like this one the best. The background lighting turned out great. I feel as if I captured the water perfectly. The trees in the background add to a great design. The composition is ok. Not something I would usually approve of. I know there's something more this picture needs but I've no idea what it is. Any suggestions?

Watchtower

So this is a photo I took on my trip to Destin about two or three years ago. Walking down the beach near the base there, I saw this majestic bird silently peering over its domain. I took several pictures, being very careful not to disturb it, and parted ways. I edited the picture significantly on photoshop and like it a lot. It's such a soft contrasting picture with plenty of elements that make the eye move plenty around the photo. I put this up just now in memory of my photo teacher, Mr. Myers, who recently passed away. Without his guidance and inspiration, I would have never displayed such a picture and had the great summer with my camera. Though I wasn't his best student, I hope he knows he's the greatest man i've come across in life and will leave a mark on my life. Thanks Mr. Myers.