What is Photoshop to me?
I studied photography as a part of my undergraduate degree in Fine Arts but I was never a great photographer. I also studied painting at the same time, but once again was never the greatest. At the time they seemed lacking, I believe now that both mediums were limited (at least in my point of view) because they are based on the very real and rigid physical system. And a true mixed or multi-media experience is difficult, perhaps impossible to crate with them because of that.
And then there is Photoshop. What is Photoshop to me? It means that I can use and simulate photography and yet not be bound by the limitations of physical light. It means that I can paint and draw without being constrained by the rules that govern how pigments and medium react to my canvas or how graphite is affected by paper. It means that I get to choose, I have a tool that I can use to work within those physical limitations to create a work that mimics reality or if I prefer, I can go beyond them, to create artwork that could never possibly exist in a real world governed by physical laws.
It's my choice and that is what Photoshop is to me; It is my tool, my ability to choose to make a decision about my art. And that ability to choose is the most personal power that anyone can have.
