[the.alturasian]

Lets start this off with a couple quotes,

Actually, I'm not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I'm not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren't cooks.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.
Ansel Adams

Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.
Ansel Adams

Ask almost any photographer and they will tell you that Henry Cartier-Bresson, and Ansel Adams are two of the greatest photographers that ever lived. Ansel Adams post processed his images to whatever extent that it took in order to get the vision that he perceived when he captured a photo. Post process is not something new that has happened in the last five, ten, or even fifty years. Todays software just allows you to take post processing to the nth degree.

Photography is images created by light hitting a focal plane. It is also a creative art, and a medium used to record historical events. Photography is is just a word, how you use it is up to you.