Fog and ray of lights

[Lovin]

Hey guys,

For more than 3-4 days, we have a very thick fog here in Vancouver, and actually in Lower Mainland, and yesterday I took 2-3 shots in downtown.

Tell me how can I improve this images, or where I did wrong, please.

Thank you.

[Gem]

The second one is very cool! They look like ghost ships :)

[Marko]

I really like the boat shot as it has a great mood. To improve that shot, I might crop a bit off the top. I'd also sharpen the boats in the foreground and boost their contrast as well. Hope that helps
Thx
Marko

[Lovin]

Thank you.

[Mad Aussie]

For the 1st photo of the building I could only suggest some more contrast but I'd have play with it a bit in PS to be sure that's the way to go.

For the 2nd photo, it's great as it is but I would have taken it in landscape rather in portrait as you have.
Perhaps you can crop it to be closer to landscape dimensions even if you have to cut off some of the masts in the water?

[Lovin]

For the first one, was the only angle available, because of the other buildings covering this one.

For second, I have 2 versions. First is for Marko - I did the crop and contrast (still not happy with this crop that I did), and second one is a different one, same view.

[Mad Aussie]

I think the 2nd one has been cropped a little too panoramic but I like the one you did on Marko's suggestion.
It's a nice scene. Does it look good with colour also? I can see it in my mind with a hint of colour.

[Lovin]

No, I did it in monochrome.
I thought that when is fog, b&w is the best way to do it.

[Mad Aussie]

No, I did it in monochrome.
I thought that when is fog, b&w is the best way to do it.
Fair enough and Kudo's for being brave enough to commit to that vision too. Most of us take the safe way and shoot in colour and convert later.
A very slight hue of blue may look ok on it if colour is now a thought. I like it as a B/W though.

[Marko]

I like that version lovin' - nice job....now do you like that version or do you prefer your original?

[Lovin]

I like the edited one more, because of the contrast, and clarity.
First time I didn't add to much black, or contrast, because I was afraid that it will show up all the boats, and my idea was to see how the boats disappear in the fog.
Now I have few more pictures, took it yesterday from Cypress Mountain, in North Vancouver.
Again the fog swallowing the city.
The mountain from the picture is Mount Baker from Seattle, Washington.
I used Zuiko lens 40-150mm.

[Lovin]

Any thoughts?

[Mad Aussie]

First time I didn't add to much black, or contrast, because I was afraid that it will show up all the boats, and my idea was to see how the boats disappear in the fog.
If you have a program like photshop you can work with duplicates of the image as layers and be bale to save those boats in the fog while still adding black or contrast to the other areas. Layers and Layer Masking are very handy skills to learn for this.

I think the 2nd image appeals to me the most wit hthe various elements protruding from the cloud layer, and the 3rd is almost San Francisco-ish with that bridge tower sticking up out of the fog.

[Lovin]

Is it Lightroom ?

[Mad Aussie]

I don't use Lightroom but I don't think it has those features does it? I use Photoshop but there are other programs out there that allow you to work with layers.