In the very early 1970's, as a kid, I was happy with a Kodak Brownie Bullet. It was a little, cube-shaped, hand-me-down camera that was probably already fifteen years old at the time. It took rolls of 127 film that I used to load into a developer tank along with caustic smelling chemicals. After trying to feed them onto a spool, I'd add developer, fixer, and finally water as a rinse. This all took place in the stairway to the attic because when the door was closed it was always almost dark enough!
Well, probably none of those images were great. I have no record of any of them but the camera and developing process did greatly affect me. They proved the magic of a captured image.
Then, for years and years, I was not involved in photography. All the years when travelling the globe, I simply had a consumer-based click and shoot. Or sometimes, I carried nothing at all. That's a pity, really, as I could've taken some unique and inspiring images. It wasn't until 2002 and my purchase of a digital camera, that my interest was re-ignited.
I got most recent camera last December. I wanted to jump to 8 megapixel but I figured that portability was the most important criteria for selection. I reasoned that no matter how wonderful the camera was, it'd sit in the drawer unless it was easy to carry along in daily life. I believe that is true. I do my "Daily Picture Parade" on Flickr where a photo each day represents those 24 hours.
Still, now I'm yearning for more. I want something where I can screw in a telephoto or wide-angle lens. I'm not quite shopping yet, but I'm starting to educate myself on what's available in the dSLR marketplace.