I'm a closeted coveter. Yes, indeedy. I want — quite a bit, too.

You see I was bitten by the photography bug years ago. I was likely only around six at the time. I had been, pardon the pun, exposed to the joy of creating images with a Polaroid camera, with various Instamatics, and I wanted a camera of my own early on.

Back in 1970-something, when I was but a wee thing, I picked up my dad's camera and took my first "real" photo (meaning it was properly framed and there was no typical kid-like motion to it). From that moment on, I was hooked. A few years later, I had my first SLR, a really nice Nikon. I shot with that camera, along with a couple different 110 and 35mm automatics for a long time.

Photography courses during summer school and beyond kept me busy and fully intrigued by the possibilities of art by camera. By the time I reached high school, I was rarely seen without a camera in hand. I was on the yearbook staff, of course. Hours and hours were spent in the dark room. "Shh, be vewy quiet. We'we hunting wabbits." Maybe you had to be there to understand the last part. Regardless, I was hooked.

At the end of my high school career, I upgraded my first SLR for another, bigger Nikon with a couple of nice lenses. My boyfriend at the time indulged my interest in photography and often took me out for shoots to the desert or the beach. It was wonderful!

By the time I graduated from high school, I knew I had to pursue an education involving the arts in some fashion. I enrolled in a graphics course at a local community college, mainly because I couldn't get into the photography class. No matter, I was happy to work on other artsy endeavors. Too quickly, my interest waned as the instructors failed to engage my "obvious interests and talents." It didn't take long for work to overwhelm me and this meant the camera, the pencils, and the t-square sat idly on a shelf in my closet.

I never lost my eye, but I didn't carry my camera with me to imprint on film all the wonders I found on my adventures. Eventually, my Nikon was handed off to someone who didn't deserve such a precious gift and I satisfied my occasional need to take pictures with an entirely ridiculous little Instamatic again. With this camera, I would sometimes capture a truly wonderful image, but the burning desire to shoot incessantly was sufficiently subdued for the time being.

Cut to my first experience with motherhood and I began to carry a camera almost constantly again. I never knew when my daughter would smile or make a silly face worthy of a photograph. I figured even if no one else appreciated her beauty and sweetness, I would and I vowed to record every moment of her childhood I possibly could. And I did. If nothing else, I would have plenty of material that could one day embarrass her while delving into the family photo albums with her future boyfriends.