Photography is Selection

 
Photography is not a creative act.
 

Got your attention, did I? Don't worry, I'm not trying to take anything away from you, or from photography.
At its very essence, its core, photography is an act of selection. You select a subject, or at least a general direction to point the camera, you select a point of view, a position; you select a frame; you select some technical options; and then you press a button. That's the core of it.
Sure, there's a bunch of things that inevitably follow. Whether in the wet darkroom or seated in front of a computer, you perform at least some minimal manipulations to produce a final picture. Consider this: if you began with a drawing, or an etching, or a painting, and performed those same steps, would it become a photograph? No, it would remain a drawing, an etching, a painting. On the other hand, if you start with a photograph, it remains a photograph whether you perform this manipulation or that manipulation, or whether you do not.
So, ...