I always had fun taking some pictures, but really did not consider it as a hobby. It has changed a couple of years ago, when I started to think more about the technicalities, and composition, and trying to develop a view. When I bring a camera with me, it helps to forget anything around, and achieve a level of relaxation I can only compare with back-country canoeing or backpacking. No thoughts about a busy life at the office, or any other troubles and concerns, which a life of a first generation Canadian is usually full of.

I'm dreading taking pictures of people, and except for the occasional family and close friends outings, it'd be a big no-no for me.

Landscapes, flowers are the best friends of mine. They don't move and I can take my time trying to find a good angle and light. But I'm often torn between craving for rather speedy hiking and a slow process of seeing around.

The biggest problem is a lack of free time (or may be it's just an excuse).

I have found that I tend to use Flickr for two main purposes:

- general purpose photo-sharing site, providing ability to invite my family and friends and share our travel experiences

- travel photo journal, narrating the pictures with the details of our personal experiences and some interesting facts about the places we visited

I don't use FLickr as my "fine art" portfolio, though occasionally I try an attempt or another in fine art. I enjoy seeing other people fine art publications. And I try to learn from that.

My Flickr DNA is here

Too many unvisited places, but not that much time to spare

create your own visited countries map

Flickr is a truly international community. I love looking at the pictures from the people all over the Globe, and it seems it's mutual.