Hi John,
The first one works for me, but not so the second; just too much out of focus, particularly in the foreground.
I think the first works well because with a 'horizon' and sky behind, the viewer wonders what the scale of the landscape they are looking at is.
For a laugh, you could place a little 'Lego' person in shot
HTH, Dave
Yes, I agree with Dave here...on his thoughts about the wondering how big or how high this rock is...it looks like you were shooting up. I don't like the oof foreground...Are you experimenting on your 18-55mm?
Nice idea John, Looks like fun.
I really liked the first image
Have to agree, I like the first shot. It has a tilt-shift look to it, which of course, ties in with the Lego idea. Did you add the blur in post? I am thinking, to achieve such a shallow DOF at 55mm, the focus distance would be quite close.
Curiously, there is a village not far from where I live, called Rock Valley!