Photography: is it art?

Andreas Gursky's Rhein II fetched £2.7m last year, setting a record for any photograph sold at auction. Photograph: Andreas Gursky/AP Photo/Christie's

Another great photography event coming:
Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present
National Gallery, London, WC2N 5DN

Michael Prodger from Guardian provides sophisticated prospect yet I found this article remarkable for comments and my favourite is:
ArundelXVI 
Photography most certainly can be art. My problem with so much contemporary fine-art photography is that so much of it seems like bloody snapshots. Without much aesthetic consideration for form and colour. And blowing the picture up to near-mural size does not add profundity.

Are the biggest storms over for this autumn?

Don't think so though The Big Picture claims that  tropical cyclone season passes its peak
Detailed visual story here


South Korean Marines search for land mines swept from North Korea by a recent typhoon in Gimpo, South Korea on September 4, 2012.