I really like it the pictures are good, however I have to say I don't like the background, it just squares and does not look as good as the whole page.
I'm not sure about the chequered pattern on the header. To make it look better, I suggest lowering the opacity of it. The image box is nice, but again, the pattern doesn't look so good. I think that one would be better if the pattern was removed altogether. Also, decrease the width by about 20 pixels or so, so we can see the full box including the sides. The next container looks pretty neat, But try decreasing the size of the images or adding some extra padding/spacing to the grey area. The buttons. They don't look right with that inner shadow. Add a border, it would look much better. The footer is nice but the search box has been positioned a bit randomly. I suggest moving it inline with the text links.
Apart from those little things, it's pretty professional. Good work Tindris!
I like version 2 alot better. However the header background(the checkered like pattern) should be changed.
Also do those icons in the navigation have a hover over effect to tell you where you are going? If not they should,icons alone could make it harder to navigate for some people.
