last splash of summer

[photofinish]

My wife and I were casually walking the streets of a city we were visiting when we stumbled upon the scene below of some kids enjoying perhaps their last fountain swim in the late afternoon heat. I knew I had to work fast to capture the moment, and I knew I wanted to slow down the shutter speed to produce a stream effect. So I manually bracketed the shutter and took several pictures from different angles. But I think I like this one best since the water seems to be glowing with the sun. I knew that there would be blur since I hand-held the shot. Does this picture work for anyone? Is it artistic? Thanks for whatever comments anyone would care to give.
#1
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=35388&stc=1&d=1130374558
...or #2
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=35389&stc=1&d=1130374558

Which one is better??

[JX]

Hi photofinish,

I really like the second one. Great image.

Jim

[Robert_Lay]

I'm partial to the first picture because it is very unusual. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like that. It has everything - mystery, excitement, action, good composition, good exposure and good color.

My problem with the second image is that it doesn't say "water" like the first one does. It reminds me a lot of the pseudo fiber optic lamps that people used to have on top of their TV sets.

[photofinish]

Thanks, Robert and Jim, for the feedback!