I take photo's because it's a chance to get out and not focus on everything else that takes up all the minutes in a day. It's just you, a mechanical device that draws light pictures, and whatever you want to draw a picture of.
It's great to take a photo that a loved one likes, though I rarely show my photo's outside here and my wife.
It's nice to be able to see something in something that people walk or drive past everyday and grab a little snippet of beauty in it, and lock it away forever (or until your hard drive gets munted).
I like that I can photograph an animal and show my kids (most of whom love animals) the little intricacies, and the changing colours, and the pores and skin and feathers and hair and facial expressions of the animals that they only see from a distance.
I like that I can take a photo of something that I find beautiful, like a dried lake bed, or a sunset, or a cloud formation. Those things will never be the same as they were at that moment, the light will never be the same as it was that moment, it's a snapshot of time that won't ever be there again.
It's a complex thing. It's a beautiful thing. It's a peaceful thing.
I don't think I've explained that very well.