Yes, even in the digital age dodging and burning is still necessary. In fact, dodging and burning can make an image. The scene below was taken in less than ideal lighting conditions. Even the location itself is not that great. So what helps to at least make something of this image?

I attempted to create a bit of depth and add some interest by dodging and burning the foreground. The lighter sections were lighter in the scene but I brought it out quite a bit more by dodging the ridge. I also burned the non-ridge areas a bit to make the effect a bit more pronounced. So what does that do to the image?

          The viewer's eyes go to brighter objects first and tend to follow them. The brighter ridge creates a line that the viewer can follow into the image. Without the dodging and burning the whole one side of the image is rather boring and ruins the image. The brighter ridge now actually adds a lot to the image. Dodging and burning saved this boring scene and made it at least fairly interesting.

          Look for areas that are already a bit brighter and dodge them a bit. Look for areas that are already a bit darker and burn them a bit. See if this helps to improve your images.