The first time I started taking photos for a particular reason was in 1999, when I was in Brazil. I was on a trip with Teen Missions International, and was able to take a lot of cool pictures on my very BASIC $10 or so 35mm camera.

It was mostly just a plastic shell with a lens and andvancing crank. I did take a lot of bad pictures, and improved greatly because of it. My second camera was an $35 automatic 35mm camera, which I still have but don't use except for international travel.

My third (and current) camera is a Powershot G2, which I love dearly. I am learning how to use the full auto functions, and enjoy taking pictures of nature and of lights in the night sky (lightning, stars, fireworks, etc). I also love to take panoramas, such as the one above, scaled down to use as a header image.