What is art and why do so many not consider photographs art?

The goal in art is to inspire and cause action. No pre determined action just action.
Because I cannot get the lines out of my minds eye on to paper or canvas by means of pencil, paint or any such medium, I use light. Photography caputers the light as it is, not merely an interpretation of what it is. When it passes through the lense it is pure and it is as it exists. The art in photography is seeing the differnet qualities or reactions that lights uses to exist in its environement. The photo plate just records what is present. We have to learn to see all of lights faces and moods. We can and do step further in creative fields by changing what we saw in our minds eye, if it is different than what we view in the print. After all the camera is only a machine. It does what you set it to do. At times this may not capture all of what you saw and wanted to live in your print. This is where the art of manipulation exists and when we choose to use this medium, it can show itself for what it is, manipulation, or present itself as what was originally seen in our minds eye. Photographers learn to use there tools just as painters, sculptures or sketchers do. I enjoy the creativity of photography and the post capture editing and creating.

Photography in its pureset form as a medium of expression has a duality that no other medium can have and that is the is stark realsim or if we choose to use it complete interpretation.

Does not photo-graphy mean "LIGHT DRAWING"