River Sunset

Tonight's challenge was to take a shot from my trip a few weeks back that I really liked, but lacked any punch to it.  It was ok from the start, but I decided to play with it to see if I could do anything else with it.  Let me put it like this: If I couldn't get a more pleasing(or at least more creative) result by using some software, then I would never post it at all.  So this is what I ended up with.  I know some people only like shots straight out of the camera and that's great. I do, too.  But sometimes its fun to see what can be done creatively.  I read a line in one of my photography books:  "Don't just be a picture taker.  Be an image maker."  I don't think that thought process works 100% of the time.  But it does alot of the time.  Here's a before and after.  What do you think?