What are the settings needed to have a great shot like this?

I was trying to learn new things about photography so I googled some and saw awesome pics that I can't do with my camera like these

can I have some advice on the contrast level saturation hue etc
btw i'm using a nikon d3100

Your camera is certainly able to produce such images

However. How willing are you to learn the fundamentals of photography. Are you willing to spend time learning how to see light? What have you done to learn how to see light?

It can take a few years before you may have the skills and experience necessary to produce these kinds of images each time you press the shutter release

The first one is not that special but the second and third, especially, involve a lot of post processing.

The first thing you need to do is put yourself in a situation where you can actually craft a good photo. These things generally do not just happen, they are planned and controlled in a large part.

Then you need to work on the image in your computer. The last especially involved some HDR editing in the bright area in the clouds.

Your camera could produce images like that, your lens may be another story. The kit lens is not so sharp. You also need a tripod. Buy a good heavy one, approx. $300.It can grow with you. I still use one I bought in 1988. This is an investment, not an expense.

First, you need to learn the basics of photography, and a great place to start is the owners manual that came with the camera. If you already know how to use the ISO, aperture and shutter speed manually, my apologies. But if not, this is where everyone starts. The Kodak pocket guide to digital photography is an inexpensive book you can use that gets to the point quickly and concisely (unlike me.) You can learn to use the controls very quickly with this book.

Then you have to learn about light as well. The best time of day to shoot is the first light and the last light of the day. The boat shot was done at the very last moment of the day, by somebody who knew what's/he was doing. The white balance is set perfectly for that light and the artificial light of the buildings. It had to have been custom set on the camera. Yours allows custom settings. Read about white balance (aka color temperature) and learn to use it to your advantage.

The End is Coming - a good use of not so great lighting. Midafternoon sun is generally high in contrast, glaring light. The storm diffused the light nicely, giving everything a pretty even illumination. I guess it maybe HDR, but it may just be very precisely exposed as well. A graduated neutral density filter maybe. Nothing else in the photostream is HDR'd. If it is HDR, it is very slight and very well done. HDR is a fact of life in digital so you will need to learn to do it as well as photoshop.

The End… Is very similar to a painting. I can see the painting, but can't remember the name right now. Look at classical paintings to learn about both light and composition.

So, to get this good is a long road and hard work is required. You will try and fail many times, but if you apply yourself, you can get there.

Many images on flickr have EXIF information that tells you the exact settings and camera that were used, and the software used to edit them

Like the first image you linked to: - edited in picnik

And so has this one: - visible if you use an EXIF viewer. Which shows clearly that it was not edited with Photoshop, but only Lightroom.

And this one: edited in Lightroom

You get the idea…