After spending sometime trying to find the images in the key resources section of the student website, I finally found them under DPP Exercise 19 (this is not stated in the module notes and perhaps this could be added to make it clear for future students - it would appear in the forums that I am not the only one that took time or was unable to locate this)!
Original image for dust
I magnified this image to 100% to try and identify various dust spots. I found this rather tricky due to the abstract nature of the image, however, I think I have identified several spots which have been highlighted for removal.
Here I have circled where I believe dusts spots to be within the image and saved the image for reference.
A cleaned up version of the original image. I have cleaned this image from dust and believe that it looks better, the rest I believe to be artifacts within the image itself, so therefore didnt remove to much as I did not want to detract from the image.
I think this is a natural part of post production to show the image at its best and do not believe this to be intervening or unethical as it does not change the nature of the image.
Original image for lens flare
Magnfied too 100% and flare identified on the left side of the image
A screen shot of the removal process - not as easy as initial thought!
Disappearing slowing - I found this exercise a little difficult as this is something that I have never done before. We all add flare now and again to images to give different effects and finishes, however I have never had to remove it.
How justifiable was this exercise?
I believe that it would be ok to remove flare from an image after all we are not altering the ethical nature of the image. If it were an image that I had taken, I would have tried to capture it without flare, ensure a lens hood was fitted or perhaps trying a different composition of the image. Justifiable is a word that holds strong morals, but as we are not altering the morals of the image I firmly believe that it would not offend anyone by the flare being removed.