new favorite things

My new favorite toy is flickr. Jumping between "favorites" of random strangers is highly engaging; there is some amazing photography to be seen. I've been doing this on a regular basis as of late, particularly when I know I should be doing something more productive. This has resulted in finding a slew of inspiring photographs and I find that I am no longer satisfied with my paltry point and shoot camera. While fine for recording memories it sucks for expression.

The seventy photos I shot yesterday between work and my front door are testament to this.

Photos like these are what originally sparked my interest in photography. I couldn't have been much older than eight or nine; I remember we were in the 4-H projects exhibit building at the Great Frederick Fair, a cavernous place full of home-sewn clothing and table settings and wood carvings and week old slices of cake, all labeled with bright ribbons. And in a mostly ignored corner, several racks of brightly colored, highly detailed photographs of flowers mid-bloom in all their glory, frozen in time, the hills of western Maryland lit up at sunset, and the like. I remember thinking I want to do that...