I've always enjoyed taking pictures, because I feel that looking through a camera's lens forces me to see the world in a whole new light.

That said, however, I'm relatively new to photography. I took a black and white film class back in college, but have just recently begun to enjoy toying around with my digital camera.

I got a new lens last year for a trip to Costa Rica which let me get just a tiny bit closer to birds and now I'm hooked. Flickr has been a great place to meet more advanced photographers and to learn from them.

Thanks to everyone for advice and comments.