Shqipo's Virtual Mumblings

Those very few of you who, sometimes, read my blog, might have noticed that I haven't written in quite a long time. The reason behind my absence (in case you care to know) has not been laziness or lack of things to write about. Frankly, there are too many things I think about and plan to write about - I even start "writing" them on my mind (mostly during driving) but then don't materialize them.

Here's my confession: I've found a (new) addiction. It doesn't keep me up at night, but it is causing all kinds of issues: eating up precious time, eye deterioration, less time spent with family (causing quite a few aggravations), turning down clients, eating up my finances... and the list goes on.

This addiction is called photography, combined with it's showcase Flickr (damn them internets!). I blame my family (don't we all!) for feeding me the love of photography. After I moved to the US, I didn't have this addiction issue, simply because I didn't have the $$ to buy "equipment" (or even process photos!) and I didn't bring any cameras with me from home.

Then came the "digital" age and I bought a point & shoot. Still no biggie, taking photos yes, but not that serious. And most importantly, I hadn't discovered Flickr yet. Last year I made the big mistake of buying a DSLR camera... and it's all downhill from there. It wasn't cheap, but now there are other expenses that are needed. OK, that's a stretch, they're not really needed but... they are. It starts with a tripod, a bag, then a real flash, new lens... and then another one... you get the point.

And there is Flickr! Damn that site! I catch myself spending hours looking at other people's photos. No, not the "personal" ones. But photos that people have taken. I have become a member of quite a few groups (uhm.... to many) there. I look at other photos and learn, get inspired, etc. In particular, I look at photos taken by people that have the same camera as I do so I can see what the possibilities of this camera are.

When I first "discovered" flickr, one of my co-workers didn't see the point of it, despite the fact that I told him it's basically a huge photo gallery, it's free (he loves free!) and you don't even have to go mingle with other "art snobs" (as my co-worker calls them/us). Surprisingly enough, now he is posting pics on flickr, participating in different groups... .

So, back to my addiction: how the hell can I kick it off?

Labels: addiction, flicker, photography

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 at 9:28 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.