It is very difficult for me to tell what the subject matter is in the first one. Also, my eye keeps going to the brighter area in the BG, so it competes strongly with the subject which is already "detail challenged" due to the shallow dof and low illumination level. The red cutting across the back of the subject doesn't aid things much either.
The second one is clearly easier to recognize, but I would like to see a bit more negative space (a little bit) to let the lantern "breathe" a bit more. The balance between the candle and the BG lighting works much better here than the strong delta between subject/BG in the first one.
Appealing. Would be easier to critique if posed larger - at least 800 pixels on the long dimension.
For the first, consider increasing the contrast of the mid-tones. One way is to apply the unsharp mask in Photoshop at about 16, 60, 0. Apply it again for even more contrast. Add a small amount of sharpening. Also, consider selecting the water stream on the left and reducing the saturation and lightening it to better separate it from its surroundings.
Now that I can see it a bit better, I'm kinda wishing the little guy facing us (he makes me grin) was in focus.
But then again, being a bit fuzzy, green and spewing (sorry) during a New Year's night out & about ... is a bit reminiscent of times that many of us may like to have long since forgotten.
I guess it depends on the message you are wanting to convey ... a bit of whimsy on my part if you don't mind.
Just a little tweaking on the lantern, nothing notable really.
#1 Taking a photo of the back of someone's head only works in very rare situations. Same applies for Dragons. Your focus is on the Dragon facing away when it should have been on the one facing the camera. I also agree with the above comments about the bright window. It appears there is a dark pillar between you and the window. maybe a small move to the right (or possibly the left) might have obscured the window a little. Alternatively a tripod and two shots (one exposed for window and one for Dragons) blended together.
#2 My only problem with this is you appear to have just chopped of the top of the lamp. A bit like cropping a models hand of foot off it doesn't feel comfortable.
Apart from the above they are lovely shots. I would definitely revisit the Dragons if you can.
