Aside from the lens flare these pics look good #2 could be a bit more in focsu but I like the composition of #1 a lot. Its tough to avoid flare when shooting into the sun and would love to hear anyone's thought on how to avoid it.
the only way i know to avoid it, is to not shoot into the sun
did you use a ND on these? or is it from a point and shoot? i thought looking through a viewfinder directly into the sun was dangerous to your eyes...
i think changing the aperture might have an affect on the amount of flaring but I don't shoot into the sun enough to give you specifics... just something to experiment with if you are so inclined...