I have a secret.  I feel guilty for having taken over 1500 pictures during my 1 week trip to Tokyo.  I sort of feel that 1500 pictures is excessive, but don’t feel bad about it.  But I am a little embarrassed to admit it though. 

Tokyo is a great place for people watching.  Many times, I wanted to take some more artistic shots, but if you think too hard, the opportunity quickly passes.  I clicked and clicked and clicked, realizing that I could go back later and choose the ones I liked best.  I never delete my bad pictures, but archive them.  With the advent of digital cameras, many people like to delete less than flattering pictures of themselves.  It’s unfortunate, because ugly or not, that photo captured YOU… at that certain moment in time… that you’ll never get back.  I have lots of ugly, awkward pictures that highlight the many chins I can have, if I’m not careful.  They’re stored away, ready to be pulled out and gazed upon whenever I need a dose of humility.

I don’t take the greatest photos, but there are those moments where I look upon something I’ve taken, and think, "Man, I rock!"  I’d like to have more of those moments and learn more about photography.  I don’t think photography will ever be a career for me, but it has grown into a hobby I love, along with digital scrapbooking, bookbinding, and paper arts.  (Bet you didn’t know those things about me, did you?)

I’m taking the next big step… I’m buying a sler.  Sler is what Ras affectionately calls an SLR.  I’ve set aside $1000 USD from my checking account for my SLR purchase when I go back to the States in a couple months.  That should get me the body and at least one lens.  I’m really excited about the whole thing and was thinking of purchasing one in Korea so that I’d have a camera for my summer trips.  Believe me, it would have been great to have it in Tokyo, but I didn’t want to rush into a purchase that big.  Plus, the word on the street is that Canon is supposed to come out with an upgraded model to the Canon Rebel XT (aka Canon Kiss Digital 2E in Japan or Canon EOS 350D in Europe).

Right now, I’m making due with my Canon SD630 (aka Canon Ixus 65) that I bought a month ago.  Yup, that’s 3 inches of goodness there.  It’s funny, but it’s only the guys who comment on the size of my screen!