This site has grown in a disorganized fashion since I first laid it out. The best places to look for albums is the chronological Album Index.
In May 2002 I decided to get serious about forcing myself to take pictures - I enjoyed looking back at snapshots but never had the guts to carry a camera around and stick it in front of people to take pictures. I shot primarily 35mm film until November 2003 and have converted almost entirely to digital since.
I usually don't take photographs as art per se; the most satisfying photographs for me are the photos that let me remember something I'd forgotten about or re-celebrate the way I (or someone else) felt at a moment in time. After reviewing about 15,000 of my photos, the vast majority of my favorites have people I know in them - a relatively small number are abstract or artistic. Lots of other people have more talent, better vision, and the patience and equipment for great artistic photography; I'm OK with buying their work and leaving the art to them rather than trying to create something new.
I found a great article that echoes this.
Updated 11/08/2006: When there's enough light for the SD450 to work it takes great photos. There are now similar models out from Canon that include image stabilization, which is a tempting upgrade (e.g., SD800 & SD900). I sold the 10-22 EF-S because I discovered that 16mm equivalent is way too wide for the kind of photography I do. People usually end up looking distorted and taking good superwide photos seems to require extra care in setting up the shot (levelling the camera, checking everything in the frame) that just isn't my style. I dropped my cheap 50mm/1.8 and and turned it into a macro lens. Finally, I bought a Domke F-803 which holds the entire remaining kit and is much lighter and lower profile than my backpack carrier.
Updated 1/28/2006: I'm selling the DSC-V1 and replacing it with a Canon SD450 (smaller size). I added a EF-S 10-22 to my DSLR kit before leaving for India and sold the 28-135IS because I rarely used it - for some reason I always reached for the 17-40 or 50/1.8 instead.
Updated 2/22/05: Susanne was kind/foolish enough to upgrade my SLR for Christmas. I'm now using a Canon 20d as my primary camera. I sold my 300d and 18-55 EF-S lens. I sold my full size tripod since I basically never get it out and lug it around; the travel tripod still gets occasional use.
Updated 5/31/04: I'm now almost completely digital. When I started taking pictures two years ago I wasn't sure I would actually take enough to justify an investment in digital....I've found out that I definitely do take that many, and that the convenience of digital makes the switch a no-brainer. I've discovered that I have very little use for prints 95% of the time - having the images on the web or my PC is more convenient and flexible.
Since Minolta didn't have a presence in the digital SLR market when I decided to switch, I had to re-buy all of my equipment in Canon. What I'm using now:
My investment in equipment has gone up about 5x since going digital. Part of the problem is that there's a great market for used Minolta equipment that doesn't exist for Canon (since Canon owners seem to never sell anything). Part of it is that I have a better job now and don't mind spending more money on this since it's the only materialistic hobby I have right now. I'm walking proof that spending a lot of money on equipment doesn't get you interesting/good photographs...but I like the technology aspect of the photography as much as creating the images. Some people enjoy handmade clothes or watches or wines; I think there's intrinsic beauty in well engineered optics, so I'll pay a premium for the pleasure of using better gear.