The first one just made me laugh because it seem like such a juxtaposition of 19th century technology to 21st-century. 100 years ago, someone in that position was rolling a cigarette, instead of Snapchatting! Made me grin.
On the second one- waiting for someone to ask the horse: "Why the long face?" Ba-dum Boom! Thanks you, you're too kind- I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waiter- try the veal!
Placing the subject to the extreme left in #1 would have helped quite a bit I think. And pulling back wider. Centering your subject makes for a dull composition generally.
Had time to play with it over lunch hour- photoshopped out the offending item on the right so I could back up a bit more:
