I love a good before and after example. This image was created outside the Rialto Theater in Raleigh for Bunn DJ Company. It was getting close to dusk and there was a ton of traffic going by. The hardest part was capturing frames between cars.

The initial capture is drab, dull, boring. I know this. I intentionally exposed the scene darker than normal, in order to balance the marquee light and the lights from the cars as my starting point. From there, pretty basic tone manipulation and texture placement. You know, average Tuesday afternoon stuff.