Time to go to the pantry, and drag out this old chestnut. I am not going to make a case for either side, I think most people know where I stand, but I have seen the debate pop up on quite a few blogs, websites and Twitter in the past week, so I thought I better jump on the bandwagon. I have grabbed links to two sites that have mentioned digital manipulation in the past week that I have read. Both are well written, and make some great points. Whether you like it or not, digital manipulation is here to stay. Whether it is right or wrong, who knows. If you like wildly glowing pinks and purples in your sunrise, then you might like it. HDR might well float your boat, but it does nothing for me. Madly dodging and burning might be your thing, but I still don’t know how to use it.
I suppose my biggest beef with it at the moment is there seems to be an ever increasing amount of people who buy a DSLR, take a very ordinary photo, then go crazy in Photoshop. I think it makes it to easy to polish a turd. Most beginners would be better served not using it, and actually learning how to use the camera to produce a better image.
There you go, despite me saying I wasn’t going to argue a case for either side, I just managed to. 
Have a read of the articles and let me know what you think.
Despite what I say above, I do occasionally use Photoshop to tart up a photo myself.
Are digitally altered photos photography or art? | Factoidz.
Is it live or is it Photoshop? — Photocrati – Photography Blog, Digital SLR Camera and Lens Reviews.
I fully expect a bun fight, but discussion is good. I also fully expect to be going over the same topic in another 6 months time.
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My position is as always if I can do it in the dark room with film, I can do in PS.
Why are you obsessed with these definitions? Just take / manipulate whatever you like. Its not like its a year 10 assignment and your teacher is setting some silly rules.
One day you will look back and see how pointless these discussions are.
Todd, the reason I bought it up is because it has been getting a lot of exposure in blogs etc lately. And because it always creates discussion. And when my mate Scott reads it, he will know he owes me a six pack!
The day will never come that I look back and think it is pointless. The longer I take photos, the more I am convinced of my point of view. I want to take good photos with the camera, not rely on a computer to do all the work for me. I would have thought that was an admirable aim.
i’m probably more open minded about the whole thing now than i was before i started taking pics. I don’t mind a bit of post processing, but i don’t care what others do. My main rule is i never take something out or put something in, like i would never add a nice moon to a pic that never had it. I also try and keep the original colors, just maybe give them a bit of a tweak. But i wouldn’t make something pink that was blue etc.
Taking great photo’s is an admirable aim, but fussing over the “purity” of them isn’t.