Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

We are defining it as a art, a mechanical reaction to light or is it the use of the light sensitive reaction being placed on a sensitive material (screen, paper. canvas etc) as an art form. I think we each approach it differently, some to be a perfect (no noise on defects) and others as something to look at.

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

A camera is not needed for photography. There is long and wide history of cameraless photography

Here is a current exhibition of such work: https://www.riphotocenter.org/photography-without-a-lens-an-exploration-of-alternate-processes/

Another exhibition of cameraless work curated by the photo art historian Geoffrey Batchen: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/fhss/schools/art-history-archived/research/exhibitions/emanations-the-art-of-the-cameraless-photograph

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Just a nit but I don't believe manufacture's can manipulate JPG algorithms. They can and do manipulate RAW algorithms and of course the jpgs will then look different as you said. JPG hasn't changed since the early 1990's far as I know. Jpg2000 is newer but pretty much no one uses it... well, I don't, can't speak for everyone. Raw algorithms change routinely in comparison.

Most everyone editing if they want a lossless format will use the format that came with their editor for this purpose, ie, .psd, .afphoto, .acdc etc., which in addition to being lossless, also preserves their edits to some degree.

RichKenn Loc: Merritt Island, FL

What is photography? Whatever the photographer wants it to be. It is an art form. However, if you make a claim about the photograph, it should be a factual claim. If you are going to enter a competition, read the rules and abide by them.

pego101

Use Google for that question.

Guzser02

You ask "what is photography?"
That is a question that I still don't know the answer to. As an image maker, I taught my students that a camera never lies but it never tells the complete truth.
The METHODOLOGY of imahe-making (be it at the camera or in the darkroom) leaves ample room for creative enhancements all based on your perspective (and the motivation thereof).
I have learned that personal nourishment and fulfillment begin with our personal expectations.
Someone here said "do what makes you happy" and that hits the nail on the head for me.
You've come to the right place, UHH. The folks here are ethical and intelligently flexible.
When you find the answer to your question, let me know.

frangeo Loc: Texas

With the days of film these same debates existed with photos being hand retouched. A photographer I knew said that his wife was the main reason he got so many merits for his prints. She was an excellent retoucher. With dyes and fine paint brushes she added and removed area that sent the print to a higher level. Then the image went to a pro lab that sent a test print to the photographer for approval. He would then mark up the print with instruction for dodge and burn areas in the print. A second print was sent and sent back again for more work on the print. This would go on until the print was prefect. NOTHING has changed. Now we do the custom work on our prints our selves. Your are beating a dead horse. When I printed my own prints I hand dodge and burned prints. I used filters for contrast and saturation. NOTHING HAS CHANGED EXCEPT TODAY WE DO IT WITH A MOUSE. Ansel Adams altered ALL of his his prints. Just get over it and shoot your images and enjoy photography. You'll sleep better at night.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Photography is nothing to get philosophical about...to each his/her own.

Randyfrieder Loc: Long Island, New York

Photography has always been about manipulation, from way before the exposure is made, even in the analog days.

(Using a film camera for example:)

what film, did you choose?
Color, b/w, high contrast, low contrast, slide, print, fast asa/din (now iso), slow or some other type?
(For simplicity, the rest, below, will assume b/w film and prints, just to make this list, so much shorter)
What are you exposing it for?
Are you trying to gain contrast, lower it, or maybe you are adjusting the speed/sensitivity?
Are you pushing or pulling the film, during development?
what focal length lens?
The lenses focal range surely manipulates the image, yes?
What are shooting?
Where are you shooting from?
Are you on ground level?
Are you shooting from waist level, or, eye level, or, overhead, etc?
What are you including and consequently, not including in your capture??
Did you choose to capture something, during the day, or at night??
Are you using available lighting?
With a reflector?
With a flash?
With multiple lights???
What shutter speed?
Are you trying to slow down action, or are you adding a motion blur, to simulate speed?
What f stop, did you choose?
Aren’t you manipulating the image by selecting what is in focus or out of focus, due to depth of field?
What about putting any filter on the camera?
Are you using a polarizing filter, to eliminate a glare, that is normally visible?
Maybe you are shooting black and white, and put a red filter on the lens, to darken the sky, manipulating the image?? You bet!!
What if I turn the camera from vertical to horizontal or the reverse?
Use a tripod for sharp images,
or hand hold?
Which set of chemicals, are you using for processing the film?
And so much more!!

Now, just a few manipulative
things that we did to the images,
in the darkroom:

Are you cropping the image, in the enlargement, to include or eliminate items from the original image?
What grade of contrast paper,
are you printing on?
Are you burning in one area, to selectively darken a specific area?
Are you dodging,
to lighten up a dark area?
Are you tilting the easel, that holds the paper under the enlarger, in order to change and compensate for
perspective distortion?
Are you overexposing and under developing or the reverse, etc.?
Are you using a condenser enlarger compared to a diffusion enlarger?
The image would definitely look different, because...
it has been manipulated.
Are you using a glossy paper, or a matte finish paper??

I hope that you realize that this has only been an extremely small list of some of the ways, that we manipulated our captures, way back when, before we all got our digital cameras.
And yes, we manipulated the prints, long before the days of the digital workflow and digital darkroom.
And the odd/strange thing is, that, no one ever called a photo “manipulated”.
It was just assumed to be part of the normal steps, that were done, in those much simpler days, to improve our captures, and sometimes to create a whole different reality.
So, now, we just have better tools, to facilitate the “fine tuning” of our work.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

There are no "Standards" in competition or shows; the rules are whatever the event producers say they are. Hopefully the rules will deal with post processing and be clear enough for entrants to understand. As for Post Processing; I wrote an article awhile back and here's my chance to post it on this site.
Post camera adjustments to a photograph - An Opinion
Should you make adjustments to a photograph after it leaves the camera? If you do, is it still a “real” photo or did it become something you created? I will only be dealing with adjustments to improve the photo not with creating something that never existed; that’s another category entirely.
Before answering, another question must be asked dealing with why you took the photo. Was it your intent to produce a photo showing everything that was present in your field of view, or was it your intent to produce a photo of what you saw? They are not the same thing.
Let’s take the situation where you meet some friends on the street. They have with them their beautiful granddaughter and she is wearing a wonderfully colored dress with little dolls embroidered all around the waist and sleeves. You decide to take a picture of the girl. You take several standing in front of her and a few more while kneeling down to her level.
When you look at the photos you notice several ugly cracks in the sidewalk off to one side of the picture. Those that you took while kneeling, show a large work crane in the distance – about a block away and the arm of the crane appears to be growing out of the kids left ear.
The child is smiling, the lighting is perfect and focus is dead on. Here’s the question … Is this a photo of what you saw?
Technically, the answer is yes, but let’s face it, you didn’t really “see” everything. Most likely you only saw the little girl and her pretty dress. That is what your brain directed your eyes to look at and really “see”. All the other stuff was there, it was just being totally ignored.
The camera produced a photograph of what you saw and everything that could have been seen. Now we come to the crux of the question. Should the photograph faithfully show what was there or faithfully show what you saw? If your intention was to show the viewer a beautiful little girl, wearing a pretty dress, why then would you show the viewer anything that you didn’t see? Some manipulation of the photo may have to be done to get it to look like what you saw. Cropping, blurring, lighting adjustments or removing something from the photograph is really doing nothing more than what your brain did when you originally looked at the little girl. If your post camera manipulation is being done to simply make the finished photo accurately depict what you saw - a cute little girl in a fancy dress ... isn't that why you took the photo in the first place?

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Howard - a photographer learns how to look around before pressing the button. A crane in the distance can usually be focussed out with thoughtful use of aperture setting. A photographer who knows his camera will have no trouble in adjusting settings to optimise his picture.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

The word, 'Photography' means drawing with light. So, maybe you better embrace the fact that Photography is an art as well as a science. And in art, there are no rules.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I find a photographer, artist and a few others are aware of the world around you. Try pointing out a interesting cloud formation or some thing to you non photo friends or relatives and they did not notice it. We can enjoy the world around us all the time.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

That still doesn't mean that there aren't many ways to improve a photograph which can't be done in the camera.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Sometimes true, but it's also true that these same adjustments can be made in post with no trouble, and same or better results. Ethically, there is no difference in manipulating in post, or manipulating before you snap the picture. Both can work, and both are used by any photographer worth his salt.