To photoshop or not to.... That is the question

(from the blog "The J- Walk)

Another look at this burning question of mine.... Man oh man do I love some of the pictures that come from Photoshop.. I truly do and I go back and forth on this all the time, but I read a blog and it just kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like how far will a person go for a good shot...

The photo above is from a Photographer who deliberatly made kids cry and then took the shot and then photoshopped it. The end result is a cool shot, but really has the art of Photography gone out and the art of painting taken over? I battle back and forth because I can see that it does produce great work, but there is a line some people cross, so should I say I will never do it... Is it all or nothing? This is a battle I struggle with because I still am learning so much and I know I could go shop a lot of my mistakes, but then I would never learn how to get it right and what to do better next time in the camera to better myself on my joouney to become good at what I do. I am not a perfectionist so I deal a lot with my errors and I have pictures both untouched and touched. I know of a Photographer who balances this wonderfully, but I still struggle with what I should do and if I should draw the line in the sand or not. So far so good for trying not to, I have not touched any of the new ones... But does that mean I wont in the future... I dont think it does. I guess this is just my journey to see there is a line, and forcing kids to cry and then photoshopping little kids to get a good shot is not somewhere I want to go.... I like the old school principles of waiting, even if it is a LONG time, for a good shot, and then in a split second capturing it in the camera..... To me it is like the old school principle of working hard in your youth and reeping the benefits of living comfortably when you are older. I know with digital it is instant gratification, but when did the pendulum swing so far? Not everyone's does and this is something I will definitly think about and take into consideration.
Here is the link:
http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/crying_kids/