Rick,
For the record, it was me who asked why outsource the B&W processing. It was someone else who posted the bit about "useless photographers".
The prevalent attitude on this board is one of the ownership of the entire process, along with the primacy of the print. Many would also put forward the superiority of traditional process.
Personally, as someone who engages in photography as a hobby, I tend to subscribe to the first notion, but not to the other two. I do consider image-taking the most important part of the photographic process, but I also feel my enjoyment of the entire process would be diminished by delegating portions of it to others. That's why I tend to use film for b&w only and digital for both color and b&w.
But I firmly believe - and say so loudly, if you look into the archives - that whatever workflow and whatever technology you choose, it is your business and therefore your choice. I maintain that nobody has any business telling me what to do nor how, save perhaps for my clients who pay for my work and even then only to an extent.
I also try hard to extend the same courtesy to others, as a matter of principle. Having said that, I also think that disagreeing with an opinion is very different from disparaging the opinion or attacking the person behind it.
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