Hmmm, I seemed to be the odd one out here. I love pic #1 instead of #2.
I love everything abt the pics. However, the eyes in #2 just don't "speak" to me as much as the one in #1. Yes, they might be bigger, rounder and sharper compared to #1, but somehow the pair of eyes in #2 feels dead to me. Perhaps it was due to the reflection of the sky in the eyes. I feel they take up too much space in the eyes to the extend that the eyes just looked like a pair of marbles, lifeless. The colour of the eye adds to this effect.
juz my 2 cents and I also understand that these things are beyond ur control. Very nice captures