Box? What box?

Now, for those of you who know me well, you know just how much I abhor "shopped" photos. I am pretty old fashioned in this respect, I don't think that airbrushing models/subjects counts as photography. In that respect, you might as well google images of them and piece them together. However, I am ok with the little stuff; cropping, adjusting brightness/contrast, etc. These are essentials to any photographer.
I am however a HUGE fan of thinking outside the box with your photography. This sunset for instance, is not shopped in any way (except for brightness and contrast), it was taken just as you see it. With one catch. Placing dark tinted sunglasses in front of the lens right before you snap doesn't really count as shopping, does it? Is this a form of cheating? Absolutely. But, is this cheat an acceptable one? Perhaps. I have seen photographers bounce light off of walls to get the right affect (I myself have done this), when the look could have easily been attained by shoppin'. Now what fun is that? There are no rules that say you can't do what is necessary to get your shot (unless of course you are paparazzi, then there are LOTS of rules)and who says you have to fake it? Use your environment. As artists, we should try to avoid digitally altering our images if possible.
Then again, that's just my opinion ;-)