Flickr

Since joining the Flickr community a few years ago I have seen other peoples photos that I may have never gotten the chance to see had I not joined.  For those of you that don't know what Flickr is it's an online photography community where one can share as many or as few of your photos (with friends and strangers) as you like.  You decide.  For us photographers it's a way to share ideas and tips and to see photos from around the world.  There are literally thousands of groups in this community that one can join.  The number is limitless.  Right now I'm in 74 groups but it changes as my interests change.  

When I look at other members photos I continue to find new groups to explore.  These groups also serve as great inspiration to get out there and try new things.  I have found two groups that are going to be very challenging yet very rewarding at the same time.  I'm going to tell you about one group in this post.  The group is called  "Strangers".  This is so far out of my comfort zone I can't even tell you!  The idea is to get out there and ask strangers if you can take their picture.  But it's more than just click and run.  It's a chance to get to know people that you may not otherwise talk to.  So far I've talked to and taken 7 strangers photos; I'm trying to get up to 100.  I would especially like to thank the four women I met yesterday at the Williamsburg Antique Mall.  They were all very sweet, open and honest with me.  This is Ronda (L) and Donna (R):

They are best friends and grew up in Missouri.  Donna now lives here in Virginia with her husband who is stationed in Afghanistan for a year.  Ronda is here visiting Donna while Donna's husband is away.  Ronda shared with me that she has had six back surgeries and was in a wheel chair for four years.  They were so much fun to talk to! 

Since I'm still new to walking up to strangers and striking up a conversation I don't have a "standard question" yet but I'm working on it.  Like I said this is way out of my comfort zone but when my day was done I felt like my day was well spent.
http://flickr.com/photos/photographybykim/