Paul - in general, my answer is I don't like them, as all too often they are flat and dull, or just plain weird but not in a good way. But I suspect that is as much to do with the way the tools are used (not well) as the technique in general.
As for your images: the first is very naturalistic. The second is not (well, as far as I can tell as I wasn't there with you) - but it does have a serene and surreal, dreamy charm of its own, and I would have been pleased to have taken it. The sky looks a bit muddy (only on my laptop which has a weedy monitor - so not conclusive), but apart from that, it's very attractive.