Gentleman, the weather dictates the conditions under which shot is taken. Camera is set for AV, which is an industry standard which governs the camera settings and ultimately metering. I do absolutely minimal pp - levels and sharpness. That's it, that's all. Result is wyswyg.
What I do recall is fairly dramatic changes in weather conditions that day - sun, clouds, wind which resulted in very challenging light. Camera records the nature's elements at the instant picture is taken. That's all I know. I hope this helps.
Wyswyg is not necessarily always the case depending on the lighting and metering mode and whether you even use the camera's metering.
No problem.
The point I was making is that with the same or slightly smaller exposures than what you used my sky looks natural given a similar sunny day you described for your photos.
Do you recall if the sky was blue, overcast or something else when you took your photos?
The thing that looks like Santa traveling across the sky? He is getting in some practice before the big day.
Just kidding, it is the lights on an airplane. This was a 3 second exposure.
ExpatUSA - you deserve a medal for persistance and drilling for details. Take a break today...
If my memory serves me well, at the instance the shot was taken there was a sudden lull in the weather and the sky behind the surfer dude became grey, but the beam of light was enough for me to capture his action...He was really reading the wind correctly. I was attracted by the whole scene - man against nature at it's best.