Good exposures like are needed with such differences in highlights and shadows can only be achieved using HDR. Also long exposure results in color noise in the sky which needs to be cleaned up. You also need a smaller aperture when foreground and background are main subjects.
Long exposure requires completely still camera. It is best achieved with the camera on a tripod and using remote control to open the shutter. Your photo has camera shake along with the other issues mentioned. Take a look at the lamp posts.
I'm not sure about the camera shake. when looking at 100% in Photoshop on my iPad, I'm quite sure that there is little shake. If it is windy, lightposts also tend to move a little. Looking at the bridge guards is probably better. In addition, I do not trust the preview in the browser. That is not accurate enough.
The asset has multiple issues and should not pass like this, however, sharp or not sharp.
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ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
You will need to get the picture sharper an to add more contrast. Night pictures need to be dark, not washed out grey in the black areas. As @RALPH_L said, you should pay attention to any signs and logos that need to be edited out.
HDR pictures can easily be overdone and the introduce artefacts in moving objects. But anyhow, you need to take different exposures to be able to check in the best pictures in postproduction.
From time to time, I take different exposures and mount them manually into one picture.
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ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
Good exposures like are needed with such differences in highlights and shadows can only be achieved using HDR. Also long exposure results in color noise in the sky which needs to be cleaned up. You also need a smaller aperture when foreground and background are main subjects.