Photography is a magnificent word. Without getting into the roots (are they Latin or Greek?), it means roughly "writing with light". As teacher of both Literature and Rhetoric, that appeals to me. It appeals to me because photography can be anything from stream-of-consciousness journaling--snapshots at a party?--to a well-crafted poem. Putting together a well-composed and well-lighted photo feels to me like much like editing writing; I'm conveying exactly what I want to convey by carefully selecting and arranging the elements involved.

If all of this sounds a little esoteric, I also like taking pretty pictures of babies and kittens. No lie.