Post Processing or In the Camera?

One of the things I've been struggling with over the years is how much post-processing I want to do with my digital photos.  I started learning in a darkroom and the alterations that are made there are usually just seen as "printing" and a more natural evolution of the image.  With digital photos, I'm torn between knowing how much is a "tweak" and how much is serious post processing, moving into the realm of digital art and further from "true" photography?  In considering a subscription with Adobe's Creative Cloud to have access to tools to remove power lines, add a little pop with some saturation, maybe cover up some sidewalk in the corner...I have to question myself; is it still photography or has it become something else?

Currently, I work with many individuals who are digital artists, where all art is created on the screen or heavily manipulated to create effects that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. I find myself wondering if I were to dive into this to clean up my photographs for presentation, at what point does it become "digital art" instead of photography?

One of the websites in which I have been an on-again, off-again active member of is Worth1000. This website has contests that I have used to assist in my inspiration and habits of getting out there to take more photos.  They have a few sections, one for photography and one for photo effects.  There are strict guidelines as to what is permissible as far as digital edits are acceptable in the Photography section.  I have tried to also adhere to these guidelines in my own processing, but I'm wondering if that is somewhat limiting to myself.  I look at the work of other photographers and see that there is much bending to the original capture.  What is the modern-day value to the original capture?

Perhaps it is a by-product of using digital cameras.  The ability to take a lot of pictures quickly as well as the ability to crop, rotate, enhance in the post-processing stage has severely detracted from the painstaking step of composition at the time of capture. Hardly anyone who grew up with access to a digital camera knows what the value of a stand alone light meter or probably hasn't heard of the Zone System.  Are these completely outdated? And to bring up a thoroughly debated question: With all of these digital steps, can photography be considered a fine art?

Left: Image capture      Right: Post-processing enhancements