[MattKing]

Well, that's one point of view, but not one that is universally accepted. There are whole books and courses devoted to creativity in the darkroom, and many famous photographers consider darkroom work to be as important in the creative process as exposing the film.

I don't think John disagrees with you - but questions of photographic copyright are usually determined by examining who took the photograph, and when.

I think of it as being akin to music. While there are additional issues of performer's copyright that arise when music is performed, that doesn't extinguish the copyright interests of the original composer.