Everyone feels differently about editing images once they get the photos into their computer. Some consider it cheating or a waste of time and don’t do any editing at all. Others people will add a few tweaks to every image to “develop it” or completely photoshop the crap out if it. Personally I like to tweak every image I deem wothy of display in order to show them in their best light. I belive this is a critical step especially when using a DSLR. Most DSLRs are set up by the manufacturers to give a fairly dull and muted final image as they assume the sort of person who buys one of these cameras will also be the sort of person who likes to edit their images. This is the reason some people are initally disapointed with the results when they upgrade from a P&S.
Here is an example of a before and after. The first shot, the before, is quite dull and washed out. The colours of the shot don’t stand out and the crop doesn’t really do anything for the the shot.
Fletch's Photo Blog 