The photography groups at Virb, while small, have been a good influence. I recently joined a street photography group, which has gotten me interested in this type of photography. The idea of photographing strangers without their express permission disturbs me. I'm more comfortable taking photos of places that happen to contain people rather than focusing on the people themselves; yet it's generally the people that make the picture interesting. Coincidentally, I stumbled today across Markus Hartel's site while googling for information about compact, wide Canon lenses. Markus is a street photographer in New York City, and his work is inspirational. It also reminds me just how much I miss New York.