Thinking about it, something relatable might be a camera trap ~ set up a camera in a location wired to a motion sensor. All the creative work is there, but the trigger is indiscriminate so you’re likely to get a bunch of photos of a cat’s butt as well. And there’s no question about ownership.
The guy you describe sounds like a digital artist. Sure he owns the photos but his actual work is whatever the end result is. Perfectly valid, but it’s a separate non-photography category at the State Fair
