To manipulate or not to manipulate?

[vertigoclimb]

Hey Carl,

 

I just looked though your list of highest rated photo's. There are a lot of very manipulated images. Even many landscapes. Maybe Mr. Adams was right when he said; "The negative is the score, and the print is the performance."

[root]

There are not a lot of "very heavily manipulated photos" in my favorites. Of the first 130 images, I see three - by Pavel Kaplun, Marlene DeGrood, and Ross Kelly. Only one attempts to be deceptive. Many examples that you describe are unavoidable enhancements inherent in the photographic process, B&W being the most aggregeous. I think nearly all would be categorized as unmanipulated according to this site's definition.

 

To your credit, you have rephrased several comments which now take extensive heavy manipulation off the pedestal that you had placed it on before.