Yes, flipping it, for me the image works better. (Im still not fully satisfied about it, but hey...)
The new look is also good, but I liked also something about the old one. But the old one was also a bit more stressful to look at, because of the contrast. So it maybe comes down to a question of balancing. This is something I find to be of uttermost importance for (some of) my own post work: Its always very easy to overdo an effect. Subtlety is the key. Sometimes I take back effects by 50, sometimes by 90%, thats not uncommon. So maybe you could selectively mix the two versions.