I like the "camera up a halyard" shot - great idea!
The Zip-loc bag.... well, that one makes a great story ;)
I bought a (used, on eBay) Canon A630 last winter, after doing some research, and I love it as a boat/work camera. The feature that made me choose it was the articulating screen. A friend had an A620 with that feature, I tried it, and it was love at first awkward-made-easy shot.
A couple of examples of times I love the articulating screen:
1) Getting a photo of an engine serial number, or some other place that is generally inaccessible -- I can turn the screen so that it is easy for me to see, while the camera is in some really hard to reach nook or cranny.
2) Taking photos of people. I'm seemingly minding my own business, off in another direction looking at my camera's screen, when in reality I'm taking a photo of someone who's out of my line of vision. :cackle:
Two other features that I happen to really like are that it has a viewfinder, and that it takes AA batteries.
I bought it used because I wasn't sure how I would like having a "big" camera (not that it's really big - it's considerably smaller than the typical SLR - but it's not one of these super-slim pocket sized ones). When I bought mine, it was around $150 for one that was used but virtually new, in original box, etc. - I imagine they are cheaper now.
I also thought about one of the really small cameras, or one of the newer, relatively inexpensive waterproof cameras, but in the end I decided I really wanted to try the articulating screen, and I do really like it.
There is also an A640 which is basically the same camera, but with another megapixel or two, and also with some fancier video function (if I remember correctly). It's also black instead of silver. And there is an A650IS, which has a stabilization feature. These all have the viewfinder, articulating screen, and AA batts.
Looking forward to some more "artsy" shots............ when you get a new camera.......