Is Photography Art?

Thank you lancashirelove. I take that as a compliment.

This subject is so subjective though. I agree with Stephanie when she said pictures on POE should be as realistic as possible. After all, they are supposed to be pictures of England and not the photographers idea of what England should look like. There are a lot of photos on here that are so fake,with red sky's that do not reflect in the water,or oversaturated colours that look like they were done by someone who is colour blind. They may be works of art,but are not photos of England,but are more reprasentative of the imagination. Dont get me wrong,I love art and can appreciate the end result,but are they pictures of England or the photographers imagination.

I am just as guilty myself,removing spots or double chins from photosof family and friends. I have also been known to slim down some slightly overlarge family members. But lets face it, these photos are not realistic and do not show them as they realy are. They have become an artists interpretation of reality and not a true image.

As I said at the start,this subject is so subjective and open to personal interpretation.

An appropriate and correct response I reckon Peter!

But you say>>>>I am just as guilty myself,removing spots or double chins

I just knew you'd played around with your avatar picture Lol

A lot of my photographs (even digital ones) go into my photograph albums and bring back wonderful memories.  However, a number of them are what I call 'Naff' because I have had to take them in a hurry, or out of a coach window but they are still memories.  My favourite photographs have been taken when I have given myself plenty of time, i.e. allowed hoardes of people to move out of the way, or waited until there is no traffic (don't like having cars/coaches against old buildings) or simply tried taking a photograph from different angles (I even crouch right down) and picking out what I think is the best. I would sometimes like to treat myself to an SLR but do not think I am technically minded enough to understand all the different buttons/ controls.  Do all SLRs have viewfinders?  I am so worried that on most digital cameras the viewfinders are being phased out - I don't really get on with a screen.

I am not clever enough to do all what you do Peter, with me it's a case of what I see is mostly what I upload the most I do is clone the odd dustbin out, they spoil many a nice scene

.By the way I like your avatar.

Lol @ Ron.

Hi Jane. As far as I know,all SLR'S and DSLR'S have viewfinders. The digital screen being added as an extra. I cant stand those creens for taking photos. How can you hold the camera still when at arms length? The controls on an SLR are mostly the same as on a compact so you can start using it strait away.  The manual controls will become easier as you get used to the camera making it even more versatile.

Thanks Peggy. I was only 24 when that photo was taken.

I think its definately art, although sometimes it can be used for other purposes (medical photographs etc..) but landscapes etc, are taken to please the eye!?  and like you say Sally, you can use artistic license to get rid of a few blots!  artists have always done this, if the old masters had had cameras back then i'm sure some would have gone down that pathway!

 I think some people are scared by new technology, scared to experiment, but if everyone thought like this, every image would look the same!!  i say do whatever you feel like to the photos!! if some people don't like it, they don't have to look!! a lot will like it!  there's enough room for everyone to show their own ideas off! straight out the camera of completely made up!  boring world if we all followed the same rules!

Thankyou Peter.  I have a viewfinder on my current camera and keep my screen turned off - saves the batteries.  Do need to look into buying another camera though as my battery case does not shut properly - I have to use sellotape. 

By the way, I do think photography is a form of art, whether it be in composing/framing a photograph when initially taking a picture or using artistic licence once the photograph has been taken. 

However, whilst I think it is nice to be able to enhance photographs if you wish, I am in agreement with Stephanie on this.  This site is an informative web site and if people completely made things up in a photograph then I believe it is misleading.  Why add a lake to a photograph when a lake does not exist in that location for instance.  As I have previously said, I found this website when looking for information on the Cotswolds and would have been a bit disappointed if the photographs (and information too, for that matter) had been totally misleading. 

You have all taken some lovely photographs by the way and I have a lot to learn.

Jane