What thread! I haven't read it completely but Man Ray is the first photographer which I've thought because, as you know, some of his "photos" were created in de darkroom without camera. A photo is a photo and if it isn't a photo is an image. The world is becoming excessively quadrilled: "or black or white", "or with us or against us" hey! And the infinite tones of grey? All of us are different grays in this gallery, this is the most important, the diversity, not the uniformity.
Anyway the word "pure" is dangerous and extremely boring. For example: Two persons with the same camera in front the same subject can result the same "pure" photo with pure non-existence of personal creativity. When we take a photo the most important are the decisions, with more decisions more personalization, more creativity.
We decide the lenses, the diaphragm, the speed, our position, the angle of the camera, the ISO, the filter, the compo, the developer for films, the developers for paper, the paper, the exposition with the enlarger, the mask, the toner. Digital photos are just the same and the postwork is just another decision on the photo.