Refining landscapes

The original sunrise shot of Factory Butte near Hanksville, Utah, was an image that was flat, mundane, and unimpressive.  Dust in the air lowered contrast and muted color, and the sunrise was tempered by thin clouds.  In Adobe Camera Raw, which I use instead of Lightroom, I applied contrast, clarity, and a small amount of vibrance.  Plus, I used the burn and dodge tools in Photoshop to adjust the highlights and shadows to my liking.  The refinement is a testament to the tools we now have which turn ordinary images into powerful visual statements.  I used a 363mm focal length on a 100=500mm Canon zoom, and the settings were 1/500, f/6.3, and 400 ISO.  What made the biggest improvement in this image was the increase in contrast.