If you think photography is a 'literal capture of reality' and so does
not qualify as art…
Think about the choice of the point of view. Think about what is _not_
shown. Think about the change of contrast or color values. Think about the
difference a change of focal length makes. Think about the introduction of
lighting changes. Think about the purposeful distortions that can be
introduced. Think of the elimination of colors in B&W… And we havent
even gotten into what can be done the darkroom.
One of the hardest things in photography is to _make_ it a literal
representation. Most of the time and technique in photography is spent
trying to eliminate the factors that make the final image 'different' from
the original- or introducing them to get a certain desired effect. It may
be less time-consuming than, say, painting in oils, but the creative
aspects may require more intensive planning.