There’s a permanent debate among photographers about the acceptability of post-processing. Purists equate any form of editing with cheating, while others argue that there is nothing wrong with getting creative with an ‘as-shot’ image.

I must say that my sympathies are with the latter group. Of course you should try to take the best shot you can in the first place, but whether your post-processing goes no further than a crop and a bit of sharpening, or you go to town and create a virtually new image, it’s the end-product that matters, as with my before-and-after images in my recent post on Vertical Lines.

This image (taken at the nearby Blond Airshow a couple of years ago) has – quite obviously – been doctored. But believe me, whatever merits it may or may not have, it’s a lot more interesting than the original.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Open Topic