In reply to LeeWood:
Absolutely - I didn't want to tie the subject down to a particular genre as I feel that's quite limiting, but rather get a general sense of how people view photography or approach photography. I think there should already be a general consensus that, for example, climbing photography should definitely tend towards documentary in nature, and doesn't need any heavy use of anything other than good photographic sense.
Regarding art being synonymous with pretentious bollocks, it's a subjective thing isn't it? This is why some people collect art and others don't, and why some people can have a great day out in the Tate Modern and others just don't understand the appeal (I'm often in the latter category). I'm influenced by the reasons I took up photography to begin with - as an alternative creative outlet to my actual work of lighting design - but I see the camera as a tool to create something, rather than a tool to document something. I don't like the idea of limiting the tools available to me because of some prevailing etiquette. As long as there's no deception, I see no problem.
That's not excusing poor editing though - badly-done is bad, regardless. Whether that's due to overcooked HDR, acid-trip saturation or some other reason, it's not good. I sometimes think some people need to ask less of the 'how?' and more of the 'why?' before they do things? 'Why am I using HDR, what effect am I trying to achieve which requires HDR?' rather than 'how do I deal with the dynamic range in this scene?' for example. I see the equivalent in my actual work so often, where new and inexperienced designers are so focused on the equipment that they forget why they're actually using it, and what they're trying to create. Which inevitably leads to the same unimaginative crap every time.
With the photo which sparked this, I saw exactly what I wanted to achieve before the camera even came out of the bag - horror-esque abandoned building in a deserted area. I specifically had in mind a photo with very subdued colours. But the Welsh countryside just doesn't do that sort of feel naturally, even though that's how my brain tinted what my eyes were seeing. I also had no idea how to achieve that, so after much mucking around with an utterly uninspiring original photo in Lightroom, I gave up and sat on it (/forgot about it) for two months until a better idea came to me. But I knew exactly what I wanted to do before I took the photo.
It's also worth mentioning that my perception of the scene came from all five (six?) senses, and the camera is only reproducing one. It was late, about to rain and I still hadn't found anywhere to camp. I'd just walked down a long road without seeing the slightest hint of life, that ended here. A naturalistic photo of a boarded-up building was never going to do justice to what I felt in the moment.
Sorry, this post is a bit scatterbrained. I've sat on it all day trying to edit it into a cohesive argument, but I have so much I want to say and only so many people to bore.