Two beautiful skyscapes , enhanced by those splendid beams of light . I love the flock of birds bonus in image # 1 . It would be nice to have a bit more foreround detail , as you imply . Try using a graduated ND filter to hold back the sky , or bracket , say , 1 to 1 1/2 stops either side of your initial exposure and combine 2 or more images in PS or other suitable software . You'll need a good tripod for the latter technique to work properly , of course .
i really like the birds in the first one. Perhaps you could try a 7:4 crop (I find this crop particularly pleasing for landscapes) on the first image to crop out some of the sea?
These are pretty nice shots, Brian. Especially the second one. As Adrian and Mahesh mentioned, stopping down the sky a couple of stops with grad NDs would do the trick. That would also impart some saturation to the sky. I like the rock-like textures on the water. There is so much detail there. Very nice.
