Iggy wrote:A man after my own heart!
But what to do? I belong to a camera club!
One of the great things about photography is that there is more than one approach and all are valid. Unfortunately, it is also true that the images which often tend do well in competition are those which have have been heavily processed to achieve a "perfection" which probably did not exist in the scene. For examples, just look at the successful submissions to a PAGB assessment where photographs are scrutinised for just a few seconds each. They have to achieve instantaneous impact, but I quickly become bored when looking at more than one or two of those.
Our approach is being skewed by the selections judges make, combined with a natural desire to succeed in competitions. it is too easy to be influenced by what the judge wants, rather than satisfy our own creative pursuit. I doubt whether Hurn's work would do well in front of many camera club judges. Many of them are just not equipped to recognise the skill which he brings to his work.
Personally, I rarely go anywhere near Photoshop and side with Hurn in my preference for a natural looking image. That said, a straight shot rarely works without techniques such as dodging and burning. It allows the photographer to emphasise those aspects of the photograph which they consider important, as Hurn acknowledges. I find that there are usually sufficient adjustments available within Lightroom to achieve what I want.
Remember, also, that Hurn's output is mainly in monochrome. Some of his more commercial work for film studios was in colour, but black and white is his true metier. That brings its own challenges, but the absence of colour also simplifies post capture processing.