Forest shots

tell me what you think of the photo and proccessing
C&C Greatly appreciated:

Before

Not sure if it's my monitor, but both "after" images still look a touch too bright for me, and yet, the colors look dark. Also, the blue jacket stands out a little too much for me... I'd love to see more richness/depth in the other colors... like the wood/bark on the trees/posts and the oranges, yellows, and reds of the leaves on the ground. That first shot definitely has "storybook" potential!

-Mike

I like the first shot, the two young lads provide aperfect points of interest, with the fence pulling the viewer through the image, good work.
Second, I just get lost in the blank sky, so doesn't work as well.

thanks for the comment
are appreciated
i see what you mean with the second one
thanks anyway