This is actually a composite of two photos I took at the time. It’s impossible to get the detail of the moon if I leave the iris open enough to get the light scattering through the clouds; doing that makes the moon a giant gold circle. So I took one with the iris open, one with it closed a bit more. I then composited the two together to show you what Monday night’s moon looked like.
I don’t mind Photoshopping a picture here and there; nearly every exposure can benefit from a little bit of color correction. So-called photography “purists” turn their noses up at digital photography and the use of Photoshop altogether… yet those same people will “push” an exposure in the darkroom to get similar results. I don’t see the difference. If I was able to shove the information into the camera, there’s no integrity in making sure I get the exposure and color the way I want it.
Compositing, however, is something about which I believe all photographers should be up front and honest. In this case it hardly matters, but I still insist anyway. That way if I ever pull off an amazing photo and there’s any question as to its authenticity, I don’t have a history of trying to pass off Photoshopped work as authentic. This ain’t Reuters! Oh darn…I hope that didn’t put an end to doing contract work for ’em. In any case, if someone puts out doctored photos, they deserve to be called on it. That’s especially true of a news service, not just some guy spouting opinions on a site that only gets a couple thousand hits a day!