Through the miracle of modern Photoshop, we can take a very basic camera raw image and achieve a more pleasing look. The raw image is much like a photographic negative. There isn't anything "final" about it. It's just a array of stored numbers. Adjusting contrast, color and how the numbers are to be placed is all part of the artistic interpretation. There is no right way or wrong way to interpret the image. Only the way that the artist or photographer chooses to share the image with the viewer.

"Did it actually look that way in real life?" Yes it did. It's how "I saw it." Those who were with me when I shot the picture just happened to see something else, but that's perfectly OK.

Technical details: The photo was taken with the Canon 6D and OM Zuiko 35mm F2.0 lens. I adjusted the exposure to make sure that the highlights didn't clip or wash out. I can deal with the shadows, but the sky is a pass-fail kinda thing.

Processed in Adobe Lightroom. I used "Adobe Landscape" for the profile and pressed Auto WB and Auto Tone. That was the starting point. From there, I made minor adjustments in sharpening, clarity and lens-specific corrections. Nothing radical at all. I normally get more radical. This photo should be considered a "rough draft" edit as a final version would experience significantly more editing, but I wanted to illustrate what can be achieved with very minimal effort in Adobe Lightroom.

Knik River Bridge - Glenn Highway. Chugach Mountains. Canon 6D with OM Zuiko 35-80 F2.8 Zoom. 35mm, F8, 1/50, ISO 100. Processed in Lightroom Classic CC.