Another comment from the "old school".
The issue is not about digital alterations but the extent of digital alterations. Photography in contrast to other art forms is an exact replication mode. Certain alterations to the presentation are useful even advised as long as the orignal content is maintained. Other art forms are designed to potray what the artist wants you to see. Photography potrays what is actually there.
This makes photography the most difficult art form. What I observe is most of the "Artsi-fartsy" stuff is based on a photograph the photographer captured that did not potray what the photographer intended. Instead of determining his/her error and trying another capture most take the easy way (and less educational) way out and photoshop it.
This is not to say there is not any extreamly altered stuff that is any good, quite contary. What I object to is the over use of photoshop as a crutch for bad photography skills.
This is the same type of crutch most of us lean on with digital cameras, Shoot lots of captures and hope for the best. Besides if all else fails photoshop it.
I recently started using a G9 PnS in putting together an upcomming photography class. I was amaised how much I had fallen into the machine gun capture mode.
Elmo
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