The Photographer's Pencil: Personal Essay

So, usually I write fiction, and not so much these personal essay type things. I actually didn't do this for class, I did this because I am tired of people saying I'm not a "real" photographer because I use Photoshop, that if I tell people that I used Photoshop on an image they will scowl.

Photoshop has kind of become the ugly duckling of photography, and that really frustrates me. I use Photoshop as a tool to help make my art even better, and yet I am given tons of grief about it. My best friend even said once that "It's not really photography if you use Photoshop." Um, yes it is.

This is mostly just a ton of my personal opinion and views rolled into one essay. Whether you agree with it or not is up to you, but please share your opinions with me because I'd love to see different perspectives on this issue and comments in general make me super happy. :) I hope you enjoy.