I posted this in b&w and each comment said I need to lift the whites...I was going for the drama of the sky so I don't want to loose too much there but could you please tell me how to lift so it looks better. Thank you!
Carol, as you know, drama comes with contrast and dark shadows.
I would try lightening the middle tones and a bit less the highlights, and, at the same time, darkening the shadows.
It also depends on the time of the day and how you saw the scene. To me your image gives the sense of a late evening mood. If the image was taken during the mid day time it might need some brightening and some contrast. For sure it looks like it was a dark day.
I did a couple of re-edit using the adjustments suggested above hoping that it would give you some indications to where you want to land. The second one (my favorite) makes the fisherman more prominent, to better guide the viewer's eyes. Looks like he is on a brighter spot anyway. It also makes the image less flat.
BTW I like the composition and I think the presence of the presence of the three fishermen gives some life to a otherwise "sad" day. .
There are some dust spots on the top left corner of the image, and you might need to get rid of some halos on the cormorants and the peer if you increase the contrast.
I like the somberness of the posted image, but oddly it might be better with a black border than a white one. The darker border may sell "somber" better.
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