I think we're going in several different directions here, but it's all good
As a follow up to what Alistair said earlier, the physical process is the 'how', the creative process is the 'why'. Personally I find the why infinitely more interesting than the how, as the how is a means to an end (like the camera equipment) in allowing me to articulate my idea.
I do recognise though that for many, the craft, the process can be an end in itself. I remember back in my camera club days seeing a darkroom print of a lifeboat that many were drooling over, but it did nothing for me. It was by all accounts a technical masterclass of the darkroom, but beyond that it was just a picture of a lifeboat that lacked any real substance in my eyes.