So because Ansel Adams didn't create Yosemite, he's not an artist?
Correct.
And people who paint landscapes - even interpreted, or with techniques like pointillism - aren't either?
They are - because of the interpretation. They are adding their own creativity to what is there.
I've seen many artists paint landscapes in a studio - landscapes they came up with entirely from their mind based on past experiences and their own imagination. That's art. Shooting a picture of a landscape, no matter how expertly done, isn't art to me, it's skill.
It's funny how many photographers defend photography as an art. I think it's insecurity - they are unwilling as a group to admit they do photography because they aren't very artistic. I just happen to be a photographer that's willing to admit that fact, and that's uncomfortable to many people. I think most people who call themselves "fine art photographers" would be painters if they had the talent and skill to do so. They don't, so they took up photography. Some then became greatly skilled in photography, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. In fact, I think it takes a lot of skill to become good at at least some types of photography, probably most types.
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