[MacUK]

I do think that whether or not a photograph is 'art' can be down to who is behind the camera, and who the viewer is and their motivation.

I listen to English football commentary often and find it interesting that if a Premiership player scores a good goal, that goal will be described as 'top flight', 'world class', 'that's why he is paid the money'. Exactly the same goals are of course scored in the lower leagues, they are merely 'good'.

Have seen many wonderful photographs described as 'snapshots' when the work of the effective promoter is 'beyond supelatives'.

As I am often told: "that is merely your perception"!

[GibbyTheMole]

[MacUK]

very droll!

[boriscleto]

[MacUK]

Ah! Two dead horses- which one is art?!

[geomez]

You know what they say, a dead horse is in the eye of the beholder.

[wildman]

Ansel Adams would have loved the digital age, especially post processing software.

I think so too.
I have often thought AA's deep understanding of the process of photography was strongly motivated by his feeling that his art was constrained by the limitations of the photographic process of his time.
Thus the way to overcome this limitation was to master the process not fight it.

[MD Optofonik]

Recommended viewing.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[mikeSF]

The bar is so much higher today than it has ever been. Artistic photography is alive and well, though as others have mentioned, cameras and social sharing are more accessible than ever before, allowing every iPhone/P&S shooter to reach a global audience. The good stuff is still there, just look harder.

[nomadkng]

a true story from this weekend:

my GF and I are at the Grand Canyon at 430p for a 7pm sunset. We arrive at 430 to a preplanned location, exit the vehicle and proceed to walk around for about 15 minutes, talking about angles and composition. where the light will be, whether we want to use this tree or that tree for framing.

once we decide on a location, we drag out our bags and I proceed to set up my Cokin filter system and a ND gradient and CPL. I compose in live view so I can get the filter set at the right place to offset the horizon. I then switch the camera into M mode and take a couple sample pics to get exposure right.

I decide I don't quite like the composition, so I shift my camera and tripod around a couple times, leveling everything, choosing my focus point, using live view to help compose.

by 530-ish I'm pretty much all set and I start taking pics as the light changes, checking my histogram after each one to make sure I'm updating my exposure.

I shoot until about 745 from the same spot, changing from horizontal to vertical a couple times, but that's about it. I take 62 images.

During the same time frame, 3 tourists with fancy Canons or Nikons stop, watch me, peer over my shoulder or my GF's as we check an image we just took in playback, then go, "Hmmm" raise camera to eye, click, and they are gone. At least 12 others, see our tripods, stop, look, click and are gone.

I'll leave it for others to debate, whether the photo or 2 I end up putting in my gallery is art, but I like to think it is. how that compares to the 15 or so people who clicked and ran, I don't know, but I also like to think my image turned out better because of the effort I put into it.

Digital allows me to make mistakes a lot cheaper than film did. Digital allows me to spend money getting to locations that would have otherwise been to expensive because 300 in film processing on top of hotel/food/transportation would break the bank for long weekend getaways. Digital has made me a better photographer because it's easier to share with critics and mentors who have helped me over the years.

Photoshop can do amazing things, but it takes hours and hours to master. I have had Photoshop since before it was "CS" or "CC" anything, and I cannot come close to so of the things others can do. Photoshop processing can be an "art" unto itself.

So to answer your question - Photography is many things to many people. It can be snapshot to share with friends and relatives, a travel log or a memory. It can also be art, and digital cameras and Photoshop haven't changed that one bit

[mikeSF]

...

During the same time frame, 3 tourists with fancy Canons or Nikons stop, watch me, peer over my shoulder or my GF's as we check an image we just took in playback, then go, "Hmmm" raise camera to eye, click, and they are gone. At least 12 others, see our tripods, stop, look, click and are gone.

i generally ignore everyone around me when I am out shooting, but when I've spent a great deal of time setting up my frame and someone comes over and sets up right next to me to poach my comp, that always ticks me off. One guy even had the gall to hand me his camera and asked me to set his camera to all my settings, so he could get the same photo as me...grrrr

[micromacro]

One guy even had the gall to hand me his camera and asked me to set his camera to all my settings, so he could get the same photo as me...grrrr

What a great idea!

[geomez]

Here's a fitting article I just ran across...

http://petapixel.com/2014/09/02/incredible-images-smoke-took-3-months-100000-photos-capture/

It took this photographer three months and 100,000 images to capture the 20 photos for his "Smoke" series.
I'd be hard pressed to find someone on here that would discount this photographer's artistry because of the amount of time and effort he invested in producing his images.

[magkelly]

i generally ignore everyone around me when I am out shooting, but when I've spent a great deal of time setting up my frame and someone comes over and sets up right next to me to poach my comp, that always ticks me off. One guy even had the gall to hand me his camera and asked me to set his camera to all my settings, so he could get the same photo as me...grrrr

I'd have given that oaf a long look of disdain and then said "Funny, I don't actually recall offering to volunteer to be your photography teacher...." then pointedly ignored him after. I honestly hate situations like this. It happens all the time too. I'm constantly dogged by people who just have to get in there and interrupt my shooting by aiming their cell phones over my shoulder like I'm not even there. It's not just the fact that they are copying my picture it's the total lack of respect for personal space that gets me steaming. I don't like strangers up in my face....

[VisualDarkness]

To do the philosophical dissection:
Has art gone out photography?
Is photography art?
Was photography art?
What is art?
Is art?

Start to answer the questions from below and go upward to maybe come to a conclusion.