Cloning Out The Can

One of the most common discussions in photographic circles over the past few years has been with regard to the veracity of photographic images. This is a consequence of the ease with which a tool like Photoshop can be used to alter an image, often with no visible evidence of that change.
Of course photographers have been altering the images that they shoot since the medium was invented. The issue now is simply how easy and almost undetectable it has become.
That photographs can be altered doesn't really concern me. They always have been and always will. A more interesting discussion to my mind is that ofdegree. This is a real issue that every photographer has to deal with on an almost daily basis. It has nothing really do with digital vs. traditional means and media — but again simply is an ethical question that photographers have long had to deal with.
Dune 6344. Death Valley — May, 2003
Canon 1Ds with 70-200mm f/2.8L at ISO 100

A Case in Point
You are taking a photograp...