Whilst nature and travel have been a passion for years, I've come relatively late to photography (maybe the "eye" develops with age? or maybe it's the ease with which digital cameras now operate)
Photography is inspiring stuff - for ideas, for memories, for future plans. Whether travelling far afield or just around my home town of London, new sights strike you and seasons change on the otherwise familiar. How else would you remember faces you saw only once or rainbows which will never appear quite the same again?
I use a Canon EOS 350D with 300mm EF lens, or my trusty Sony Cybershot which rarely fails me when I'm hanging out of a window on a dusty foreign road trying to get shots on the move.
In real life, I'm a lawyer - which doesn't afford many photo opportunities!