I found my calling for art early on and have spent the majority of my life interpreting my vision through photography. I learned that photography requires a balance between the left and right brain in order to master the medium. It is necessary, especially initially, to develop and understand the science of photography (left brain) and the functions of the camera, however, if one remains stuck on the allure of the equipment, as many today do, they will fail to develop the artistic feeling in their right brain. Without that, there is nothing for the left brain to interpret. Some people have a wonderful feeling for art (right brain) but the haven't learned the science of the medium and thus cannot interpret their art.
Unfortunately, in this era of auto everything cameras, many aspiring photographers never gain the value of optimizing a particular shot and what settings will produce the result they are looking for. Some are not sure what they are looking for. This is called criteria and it comes only with hard work and many hours of trial and error and many hours spent in the darkroom learning exactly what will make a photo better. All my years of darkroom work has been interpreted in the tools available in Photoshop which has given me an even better, more complete, and exacting tool with which to make the final image better. Without the darkroom criteria, I would not know what to do with the mighty engine, Photoshop.