My Aha moment came in 1978 when I bought my first SLR which was a Chinon. I took it out of the box quite excited and I was going to take the world by storm. I loaded the film or my brother did it for me and had to show me how to do it. But, it was loaded and ready to go. I went outside and saw my mother drawing under the acacia tree in Tucson, AZ. I saw all this lines and shapes and I thought that would make a great photo. I took many shots of her. Then, I saw a rose in the garden and I tried to take a closeup as close as I could. I sent my film to be developed in anticipation of great photos. Well, I got them back and the great lines I saw on my mothers form was not great art, in fact the photos were awful. The only photo that looked anything that was presentable was that lone rose flower. Even that would not have gotten honorable mention in any contest. My aha moment was that: taking the world by storm would have to wait. Also the booklet that came with the camera had a nice tip, always look at the background. Great tip. My mother, brother and I were hiking up the Tucson foothills and my little brother climbed up a rock. I thought that would make a great photo of him and I took his photo. When I got my picture back, he had this huge saguaro cactus coming straight out of his head. So much for taking the world by storm. I have learned a lot since then, but there was that learning curve.

I would second this comment. Those shots of the owl are just exceptional and would win many a nature contest.