I prefer this second shot because there is more artificial lighting to give the photo some contrast. You said this was a morning shot. I think you were about 10-20 minutes too late for the perfect balance of light, when the sky would be a deeper blue, and the lights would jump out and and sparkle more. Nonetheless, the low vantage point definitely adds some visual interest, as does the dew causing a reflection on the planks. I also like that there are no people here, since it's a location that is surely full with them most of the day.
Lots of nice leading lines here: the arcing tree branches in the upper left corner, the railings, and of course the gravel road. I see a square composition hiding in this one. All of that space at the right isn't doing anything for the photo, and it makes the two figures have less presence in the frame. So I would crop it down, coming in a lot on the right and bit on the top, with the two figures falling roughly near the intersection of the thirds in a square frame. I tried it, and I think the image really starts to hum that way. You might also consider dodging the midtones of the figures a bit.
This one, but doesn't seem to fit the thread topic
This one has some nice foreground interest with that palm shadow and the line where the edge of the walkway meets the grass--that line leads directly to your subject. I think this too is a candidate for cropping, perhaps as a vertical (with the monument in the left part of the frame); a landscape crop would be nice, but you'd end up with some distracting palm branches sticking in from the top right. At any rate, the kid on the bike needs to go, and your subject being smack dab in the center is making the photo too static.
It really depends on what else is in the frame to catch and direct the movement of the eye.
) with the mountain, clouds, and road?
