Symptoms:

Stopping every 25 steps to snap a picture

Taking 15 versions of that picture

Driving my family insane

I absolutely LOVE steemit photographers like Hive account@countrygirl and Hive account@olivierc (and others... but I won't go down the road of listing them!)  Their photos actually move me!   I've always looked at them and thought.... I wish I could do that!

Yesterday at  Hive account@shadowspub PYPT, I shared some of my photographs taken from Puerto Rico, on vacation two weeks ago.

The response encouraged me to try more!  

Hive account@juliank has photography contests, and though I never considered entering in the past - I figured - why not?

I love that he states:

I want to make photography grow on Steemit, build a community based on capturing and sharing experiences from around the world, inspiring and learning from each other while growing with each other.

Alright!  Let me try!   This week's category was benches.   I walked around, spied a few - and then found my favorite!

Here is my entry into this week's #smartphonephotography contest.

Thanks for looking!!! 

P.S.   If you haven't seen Hive account@olivierc 's amazing photos of birds of prey - you need to go look right now!  He has the patience of a saint, waiting for these birds to pose for him!!!!  And he has the magic of a wizard - because they ALWAYS end up posing for him!!!!

He has been quiet past few weeks.  He is so incredibly talented, but he (like many others) is undiscovered here, so I worry that he might have taken a break from Steemit.   He gave me permission to create a post of some of his best work!  I might do that this weekend :)     

I hope he does come back, because his work was simply amazing.   Really - you won't believe the shots he's taken!!!!  If you have a moment... go peek at his work!   Sadly - it's over the 7 day payout , but I'm CERTAIN he would love to come back to a lot of messages on his photos!!!