Should I edit this photo?
This is one of my favourite photos, it's of the Cotopaxi Volcano, located about an hours drive from Quito, Ecuador. The photo you see is unedited, straight from the camera taken on a roadside break on the way there for a visit. I remember the moment, the pause of such a majestic volcano that dominated the view, it gave me a moment to see its beauty. Maybe it's not noticed at first look, but in the foreground there is a piece of paper on a fence. I often look at it and wonder if I should remove it.
It's just a piece of garbage, and a cloning tool could make it like it was never even there. I wonder how does it affect the overall photo, if removing it changes the meaning. Does it make the countryside any less real? Could it no longer be a documentary style photo? Or what if I just crop the photo, and take it out. Is cropping a photo a form of editing that is accepted? Maybe in my head I think a clone stamp is a major alteration, but I feel a crop would change more of the photo....and what if when I was there I walked over and removed the paper. Would that be okay?
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