This is a question that has so many different answers! :) For tourists, I think that they can come here to visit and find the city to be really magical and amazing, because well, it is quite different than any other city out there. For people that currently live here, like myself and others, I think that there's a big love/hate relationship with it. Overall, personally, I wouldn't want to stay in the actual city beyond a year or two (even if that means just living 20-30 minutes *outside* of it. Again, this is because there's a serious love/hate, haha. I suppose I'll break it down a bit:

The love:
- the summer/fall weather is awesome. It's crisp and warm
- In these seasons, there's always a lot of fun outside stuff going on. A lot of culture. Art, music, dance, festivals, flea markets...all the time.
- There's food, neighborhoods, and people from all over the world from every background. The cultural diversity is pretty great.
-Having Subways is pretty convenient. No need for a car.

The hate:
- (as opposed to the summer/fall), the Winter here is awful. It can get quite cold and when it snows, it's not regular snow, it becomes polluted, gross snow that mixes in with all the garbage and slush in the streets. A lot of people tend to hibernate and not do a lot during the months of December-Feb.
- The subways can also be frustrating, slow, and dirty.
- The cost of living is crazy high. There's not really a middle class anymore. It's either you have money and live in a nice building in a trendy neighborhood. Or you live in low rent areas that aren't always the safest (like myself and my roommates).
- Depending on where you go, the crowds of people and noises can be overwhelming. I've HAD to make it my priority to seek out reclusive woods and parks to go to, in order to clear my mind and become more creative.

ahh thank you<3 ....YOU are amazing!

*cont...There is a huge difference between copying and inspiration, and I think you were able to articulate that quite strongly. I mean, you've already gotten some great feedback considering you took up photography just a few months ago! Keep it up! And what's this I see about being in the top ten with The Smithsonian's contest?! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/63307320@N02/6413513551/in/photostream)";

Oh gosh, you're too kind! I'm blushing, haha. I could never get angry at someone for expressing their point of view, and anyway it seems like it was said out of ignorance rather than malice. I'm more than happy to explain to someone the difference between two very important things. Copying and inspiration are 100% not the same (heck, one is a legal matter - i.e copyright infringement)! Inspiration is nothing more than just that - inspiration. I'm sure that Brooke and thousands of other photographers pull inspiration from various places and people, too. That's why I love the Flickr community so much - people there are so supportive of creative endeavors. I'm excited to continue growing and can't wait to see what my stream will look like when I've gone beyond 40 pictures and have reached like, 400..haha.

And thanks - yes it made it to the top ten with the Smithsonian's 9th annual contest. All work will be published starting March 1st! :)

June! The weather is usually perfect and I typically have enough saved up to go on a little vacation. Last year I visited my family in New Orleans, and I think I may do that again this June. :)

Hmm, I think there is a big difference between 'copying' and being 'inspired.' And these two terms should not be confused with one another, because I think that you are confusing them. If you look around flickr, there is so much talent and people being inspred by one another - sometimes concepts, color schemes, textures, and ideas are passed around and interpreted differently based on someones preference; this is, afterall, how artists grow!

Take clouds for example - this is something that's been used a lot: Lissy Elle could interpret it one way (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lissyl/4481785376/), Alex Stoddard could interpret it another way (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex-stoddard/5749018151/in/photostream), Brooke will use it in her own way too (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookeshaden/6066118356/in/set-72157612254083354)... this is just one example, but the Flickr community has hundreds of these inspired ideas.

There's nothing wrong with this type of shared inspiration, especially if you always credit where an idea was inspired from (which I always do). I have only been doing "artsitic" type of photography for a few months now, so I like to think that my style is still evolving and growing - I'm finding out what my strengths and weaknesses are, what type of colors I enjoy, what types of stylistic inspirations I enjoy (which range from brooke shaden to rosie hardy to parke harrison to annie leibovitz to alex stoddard, to certain books, movies, and music) -- my photos can be a product of all these inspriations, or they can be a product of something that just popped into my head and wasn't inspired by anything/anyone.

Brookes work is beautiful and sometimes I draw more or less inspiration from her (especially considering she's the one that introduced me to conceptual photography! I took her workshop, was taught techniques, and had a fun day shooting with her -- she was very sweet to give me feedback on the first conceptual photo that i've ever edited http://www.flickr.com/photos/63307320@N02/6111267630/in/photostream)...but I can't ever think of a time where I wanted to copy her (or anyone!) I would never want to 'BE' someone else, because well, that's just creepy - I'm my own person on my own path in life. With all that said, I must refute your statement and say that the final product of my photos are my own - my own ideas, emotions, my own effort, and most importantly, my own art.

Oh gosh what a challenging question! If you are referring to a 'famous' persons photo, I would say that if I had a fraction of Sally Manns talent and abilities, I would love to shoot something similar to her work, perhaps this photo (http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/images/photosally.jpeg) .. her work is just so pure and captivating.

Obama, or Annie Leibovitz, or Nelson Mandela.

Wow, I'm a total newbie to Formspring and have no idea how it really works - so I just saw this now! Lol. I'm just at work today, and glad it's friday - I'll probably take (and hopefully edit) a photo tonight. Probably eat some good food and get a good night of sleep. i know It's a Friday so that sounds terribly lame, but I've had a stressful week so it'll be awesome. :)

for most of my shooting I used a canon t1i body and a 50mm 1.4 lens (this lens is what i love more than any other piece of equipment!)...two months ago I saved up enough to get a (used) 5d mkii body. It took me a while to save up, I had to give up a lot of my social activities in oder to stash money away (I do work at a day job, too, which makes things financially easier). I just love Canon, but I would never recommend one brand over the other - I think it's all about how you use what you've *alread* got. :)

I think my favorite aspect is that it has no limitations, especially with digital photography. Anything you can imagine; you can create :)

These days I don't relax much! :/ If I do though, then i enjoy the simple things, like watching cartoons while eating ice cream :P ... or reading a book at the park.