My moment was pretty much instantaneous. For a long time, I simple assumed that digital cameras were computerized machines that were programmed to take good photos, and if the photos were bad it was because the camera was bad. After taking a series of important photos that turned out badly, I had the sudden realization that my photos were bad because I was a bad photographer, and that I had to think like an artist to do better.

Years later, I was at a photography exhibit at a major museum: it was an exhibit of photography that was admired by the Impressionists painters. I was with a young lady friend who was struggling to be good at photography, but lacked confidence. As we toured the exhibit, we were commenting on the various photos, figuring out was good, what made them good, and what could be improved, totally being the experts in the room. At one point my friend turned to me with a big smile as she suddenly realized that she had “arrived” and had her moment.