Photography in the Digital Age – Is it Fair?

Glen Haven General Store
Originally uploaded by SNiedzwiecki

I just read such an interesting comment posted online at PC World Digital Focus. It was a response to complaints received when digitally manipulated photos are allowed in photo competitions, and whether they are “honest,” “fair,” or “real.”

A reader commented:

“I’m one of those people who have complained about how unfair it is to accept photo entries [that have been] manipulated by editing programs. Folks with money and computer skills will win every time.”
–Mark Kline, Fort Worth, Texas

Another photographer’s response was:

“Perhaps these folks folks should have been around in the good old days, when photography was more than just pushing a button and then going to the drug store to have your photos printed. I wonder what these critics would think of an old photographer like me who used filters, “souped” the negative, retouched the negative, put the negative into a photo enlarger, focused and cropped the image, exposed the paper, and then, finally, saw the results of the exposure. Not to mention the arts of dodging, burning, hand rubbing, and more.”
–Stan Silvers, Shelton, Washington

Just to give some discussion on the subject – what do you think, dear blog readers?

What are your thoughts on skillful use of photo editing tools? Please – no flames or bad mouthing in your responses… (I will not publish them if they are derogatory in any way) – but I’d like to hear your genuine, honest thoughts on this much-debated topic.