Section 4 the photograph as art The concept of photography as an art form has promoted continual debate. From the early days of photography's popularity as a medium, it has been argued by its proponents that a photograph expresses far more than simple information or representation of a literal form. When photography is embraced by artists as a creative tool, both the world and the way in which we view it becomes a spectacularly different place. This contrast is particularly stark when compared to the recorded images of documentary photographers (see page 64). Following a century of powerful visual appropriation and reassessment of meaning in image culture, the boundaries between the photographic genres and what constitutes `art' are now very blurred. What might have originally been shot as a simple portrait, a busy street scene or a nude, may now be considered as a `higher' or `purer' form of aesthetic, adding a reverence and a value that may be influenced by the status of the photographer or simply by an image belonging to part of a school of styles, which were taken at the right time and in the right place. The fine-art photographer has the ability to convey something more intense, and often intangible, than what has actually been photographed; the technical skill and sensitivity to light is infused with a creative spirit. The camera in the hands of a fine art photographer will somehow produce