The first version is reasonably close to what a fellow caver mine explorer following behind would see from the random spills of light from the person in front's caplamp, however, whilst atmospheric shots that give an impression of an underground space as seen by a caver are currently 'in', they are usually adjudged to be 'good' if there is either more drama (silhouettes and such) or the viewer can better see the pasage shape or layout. Success on these criteria tends to be down to detailed pre-planning the shot and taking multiple versions (which is where digital comes into its own though you still need a lot of flash batteries).
The second version is closer to the 'standard silhouette shot' whilst also giving quite a lot of accurate but also atmospheric information about the surroundings. Better framing so as not to truncate the figure would have greatly improved it - difficult to achieve when working solo (which I presume you were doing?). Trick is to set camera on tripod and use caplamp held off helmit and slightly ahead of camera (to avoid glare destroying your night vision) and scanning around to check where the edges of the shot actually are, and then planning where you will stand accordingly. You can always mark the spot with a rock. The hard thing when doing silhouette-type shots is to avoid unintentional glare off close-up bits of wall/floor/roof, or off unexpectedly bits of light walls/floor/roof. In the case of this shot, had you angled the flash a bit more to the right, you would probably have avoided the glare at the lower left.
If these are your first attempts at underground photography then you're off to a useful start. Just keep trying variations; multiple-flash shots are the next obvious progression. Have fun!
Damn it!
