If the definition of photography is limited to the fixed mechanism of exposure, then much of the history of photography would lose its meaning. The definition of the photographic medium lies in its ever-evolving conventions and equipment, and composite photographs have developed along this line of thought. Your nostalgia for past photographic ideas, or your fear that your relationship with the camera will be threatened by those who barely know how to use one, cannot be a reason to reject the new photographic reality. After taking photographs for 36 years, I've gradually come to understand that the photographic medium itself is far more important than its mechanism; the process by which light ultimately presents an image is always circuitous, whether it's through a lens, sensor, or algorithm.