hmmm..getting hot in here...pheeww...some posts need a violence rating :-) @michelle and danob...some italian artist did put "dog shyte" in a tin and tried to pass it of as art...those italians...got to luv'em then there was the room with the light switch which turned the light on then off...tate gallery considederd this art...go figure!! is it art or is it an "'ism"? as to manipulated photos...i am guilty of this as well..(not with much success..lol)...i don't call it a photo or art...just an image where do we draw the line...i'm not sure (some help heh!!) photos have been manipulated for decades and now technology allows us to do even more of this either from scans or from raw digital data. i think that what has happened is that technology has progressed and opened up new avenues to us but personal views and general definitions and labels have been trying to pigeon hole the results because it is human nature to do so since it gives us a sense of understanding of what we're looking at. ultimatly all things will come to pass...(do we still have surealist painters and photographers as an art movement? ...do we still use glass plates as negatives?)... something new will come along and take its place...for me (and others above) that thing seems to be called Digital Photo Art as mysnapz has called it.

Pictures appear to me, I shoot them.   Elliot Erwitt