Someone wrote (somewhere out there on the WWW) that while they have no problem with heavily edited photos, they request that you explain what you did-- how you edited it. (Fine. Seems a little picky to me if it's nothing extreme-- just adjusting the colors-- but whatever.) It's the reason behind the request that I find irritating:
While some of prefer to get most of it right in camera others are using their digital editing skills and taking their images to another level. On the most part there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, however we believe that in today’s digital age one should at least be honest. If you have edited an image - put in a rainbow, a moon, intensified the colour - whatever you have done, just be honest. Don’t allow others to feel incompetent just because you can work an image editing program.Did you catch that?
"Don't allow others to feel incompetent just because you can work an image editing program."
~insane satirical laughter omitted~
So, let me see if I've got this right... It's perfectly fine (I assume) for Sally Snapshot to feel "incompetent" if your straight-out-of-the-camera photograph is miles better than hers... But if your photo turns out better than hers "just because you can work an image editing program", that's no reason for the poor thing to feel "incompetent".
...Written like someone who doesn't him/herself know how to "work" those image editing programs, don't you think?
Sheesh, people. Since when is it top priority that no-one ever feel incompetent? Feeling inferior is just an occasional part of life for most people. Every now and then, you may feel incompetent-- especially if you're constantly comparing yourself to others. People have different levels of skill in the various areas of life. Some people will take better photos than you, but you're going to have to learn to deal with it. (It helps to remind yourself that you take better photos than someone else. (g)) Hey, a feeling of incompetency can sometimes even help you in the long-term by spurring you to better yourself. (See? You should be thanking those people who make you feel bad about yourself.)
...I sure hope I didn't just make anyone feel incompetent in the face of my superior ability to grump...
