Help with night time skyline shots?

[3940dxer]

Lately I've been trying some night time urban and downtown skyline shots. WHile admittedly I have a lot to learn about photography, I'mm finding this to be VERY challenging.

I have a Nikon P7100 and am using a tripod and a remote control. For the skyline shots I've been using 1/4 to 1/2 sec at F8. I use manual mode, which sets my camera to ISO 100. But I've been having some major problems and am not sure what's going on.

The main thing is that at these settings, and bracket settings, some lights in the scene are very underexposed, others are totally overexposed, and I can't find any combination of settings that gives decent results, For example, if I set exposure time so that an important building (which is a bit darker than others in the scene) is properly exposed, other lights and signs are grossly overexposed with bloom out, starburst effect, etc. If I set exposure so that bright lights and neon signs look reasonable, my "important building" is all but invisible. And hardly anything in my shots look really, really clear.

I don't think that the scene I'm attempting is particularly difficult or has extraordinary range of brightness, compared to other nighttime shots I've seen. I doubt that it's a limitation of my camera. When I look at night shots that others have taken, I see nice clear lights and skylines, often with a much greater range of brightness than what I am trying to capture. I must be doing something wrong.

I'm also having trouble with white balance; buildings that look white-yellow to the eye have a greenish tint in my shots. I know that my camera has a white balance adjustment, but I'm not sure how to use it.

Any help or general tips would be greatly appreciated! If I haven't given enough info here please let me know. Thanks in advance. (And apologies in advance for being such a noob.)

[MayDay]

Never apologize for asking good questions - when it comes to photography, sometimes that's the best way to learn. I'm not familiar with your camera (I shoot with a Canon 60D) but I'm sure someone else might have some ideas. Any chance you can post a photo or two you've taken that show the issues you're having? A visual might help everyone see what you're trying to achieve. Regardless, only way to get better is to get back out and keep snapping away.