The Power of a Good Photo Editor

I used to be a photography purist, believing that a photographer's skill should solely be judged on the raw image coming out of the camera.  But as technology has advanced I've come to the conclusion that much of what creates a great photo is the post-processing that occurs after the photo is taken.  I wanted to provide a good example of that.

Here is an original untouched photo I shot:

The first thing to fix is the fact that the photo isn't level with the horizon:

But then look what's possible when one really tinkers with the photo:

My photo editing software of choice nowadays is Adobe Lightroom.  At $300 retail, though sometimes on sale for $200, it isn't cheap but I believe it's a worthwhile investment for everyone who has more than a passing interest in the photos they take.