Is it the increase of space-time between two objects or an actual increased (or increasing) distance between two objects?

I'm torn because in my mind Redshift is a way to measure the impact of space-time and not necessarily the Doppler effect of expanding distances between two objects.

The reason i feel this way is in its simplest form a Photon has no mass and thus travels from point a to b across the fabric of space-time and every curve thereof. Wouldn't the measurement of redshift from galaxies further out show the increasing impact of space-time (or increase thereof)?

At least if you apply it to space time you don't have to ignore gravity for the most part. I'm no cosmologist but reading up on Hubbles Constant gravity plays very little role and in fact it mentions that the Hubble Constant " does not account for cosmological effects like the curvature of space-time due to gravitation."

Obviously i don't have any math to back up what i feel but in a way it almost makes sense to let gravity win.

I put it in the ATM just because i didn't know if was appropriate to ask a question an insinuate why i feel the way i do without coming off as sounding like i'm against standard thinking.

Which way is it