I've fielded some requests for more details on the Midtone Correction technique from Mac Holbert. I am anything but a Photoshop expert, but I'll try and play one for a moment.
Type Ctrl+J to make a duplicate to the Background Layer (I long ago forgot the menu command for this). Double-click on that new layer to open up the Layer Style box. 
(If you click on this Layer Style box image, it should open up one where you can actually read the options.) At the top I've set the Blend Mode to Overlay, and set the Opacity to 40% (what I decided was needed for this image). At the bottom there is a way to define what tonal areas this Blend Mode affects. Pull in the arrows to something like 50 and 170. Then, carefully set your cursor on the inside half of the arrow, and go Alt and drag. This way you can define a transition zone of the effect.
When you look at the image, it will look a bit harsh. The next step fixes that. Go Filters-Other-High Pass. Set the Radius high, to something like 50 pixels.
The neat thing about this fix is that it restricts the contrast increase to only the middle of the tonal range, leaving the highlights and shadows untouched. There is probably a way to do the same thing in a curve, but it would be really fussy. I like the elegance and ease of this technique.
I couldn't figure out how to insert a rollover example in this site, but I posted one elsewhere. For an example of a before and after, go here: http://www.dougplummer.com/examples/midtones.html
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