Photography or photographic art?

Question

I love photography and always bring my camera on every trip I go on. As per usual, I brought my digital camera along with me on my weekend trip to Ballarat.

After getting back from the trip, I loaded the photos onto my computer and began putting on some digital makeup before I presented them on the internet.

And the question hits me. Is what I'm doing "photography" or "photographic art". And what is the difference?

I do admit the my photos on the internet are not original, they were modified to a certain but minor extent. i.e. the most I do is increase saturation and manually change levels in Photoshop not cropping or additional masking etc were done. only saturation and levels

An example: http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e259/jamesqwang/Ballarat%20Photography/001.jpg

Answer 1

Let me define this term original in terms of unmanipulated imagery. In the field of fine art photography there is a school of thought that straight unmanipulated photography is the best and only real photography. The most famous practioner of straight photography and perhaps most famous fine art photographer of all times Ansel Adams manipulated images to a great extent, one only needs to study the zone system to understand what I mean. At the other end of the spectrum in the field of fine art are photographers like Jerry Uelsmann who do nothing but photo manipulation. In terms of which school of thought is more valued or correct, the answer is neither is better than the other, they are just different than one another.
In terms of your photography not being original, it is original. So you increase the saturation and change the levels a bit. So what would be the difference between you increasing the saturation of your images in photoshop and say a person who goes out and buys a particular film that produces overly saturated colors but does not go and manipulate his or her image in the darkroom? Are both of you not doing the exact same thing, increasing the saturation? As for increasing the contrast what would be the difference between you increasing the contrast in photoshop versus a photographer who goes out and pulls his film by a a few stops during developing to make it darker? You are both doing the same thing, the only difference being is that your method of using Photoshop is a whole lot easier.
My personal suggestion is that if you are not in a field such as photo journalism where straight unmanipulated photography is integral to your profession, then don't even debate with yourself or others on the merits of unmanipulated vs. manipulated imagery. It is a pointless debate which has been argued since the advent of photography, and there will be no resolution.

Answer 2

I've been earning a living with my camera for 37+ years. The answer to your question is "it depends". A camera and the images created with it can be used for art, science, business, law enforcement, historical records, etc., etc., etc.

If your intent is artistic, then the tools you use in creating your final image are part of the creative process. The result, if originating from a camera, is to some degree, photographic art. The things you mention are generally considered "rendering" and are no more or less than could have been in a conventional darkroom. (Although with some added degree of difficulty.)

If you add compositional elements from another image (cut & paste) or substatially alter photographic elements with overlays or computer-generated lighting effects, it might be called a "photo montage" or (in the extreme) "graphic art". But retouching/adjusting a photographic image does not make it anything more than a photograph.

I have experimented with almost every known form of image manipulation. People still call me a photographer, what I create are still called photographs and (if the viewer and I are on the same wavelength) my photographs are often refferred to as "art".

Answer 3

I think just photography. If they aren't original then it's not yours. I love photography and like taking pictures of old barns and landscapes. I don't have a digital but I plan to get one next month. If you take your own pictures then it's art.