Two from the park today C&C please

Two from a walk in the park today. C&C welcome. As always.. interested to know what I can do to improve. Thanks so much.

1. To me... It's just not quite there. What am I missing?

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

In the first one, you have some really nice light streaming in from the background. That part of the photo is terrific. You apparently used some fill flash on your subject--looks to be on-camera flash. Fill from a flash on the camera can look good, but when it's casting shadows like we have here (on the bench), it looks less polished, and more importantly, in this case it has obscured the subject's eyes by creating a reflection in her glasses. Also, your subject is dead center in the frame and has a rather pained expression on her face. In addition, she's striking a rather inelegant, lumbering pose that draws attention to her bulging midriff and double chin. I'm sure a much more flattering shot of her would be possible.

The second one, again, has some great light. Recognizing great light seems to be one of your strong points, so stick with it! However, this shot is "boring" as you say because it lacks a subject. It's a super setting with no subject in it--no place to serve as 'home base' for the eye to settle down between explorations of the picture. Without a clear subject, we lose interest and stop looking at all.