You hear the 'photoshopped' debate in the publishing media everyday. i am not going to join in the discussion. but the topic does reminding me of the darkroom experience during my film-day.
For the novice, darkroom is like a extravagant and decorative photoshopped-room. It is extravagant by consuming plenty of beautifully made photo-paper and chemical, on top of the enlarger fixture and accessories. It is decorative as it takes up at least a whole bathroom or storeroom of space with equipment and designated furniture (not for sitting). depending on your local climax, ventilation may also be a requirement.
While living in East Asia, a personal darkroom is a far-fetched dream. It has not stopped me to go over a rental space and spending a sunny Saturday inside the darkroom. By the evening, it gives me much joy when i produce a handcrafted image. The same joy that, I believe, a painter or a carpenter experiences.
Cartier Bresson, the documentary photographer, insists that darkroom continues his basic integrity, even to printing the whole negative. Jerry Uelsmann, on the other hand, plays trick with that very integrity to give highly subjective results. Darkroom has been integrated by many photographers from those time, as a workstation for the experimental production of abstract images.