What being a Hobbyist Photographer has taught me in all these years?
It happened in the middle of a quiet London morning. I was walking through a park when I saw it — a baby crow.
At first, I almost walked past. Crows are everywhere; what’s the big deal? But then I stopped. Not because it was rare, but because I realized that in all these years, I had never noticed one before.
Maybe I had seen baby crows before. Maybe I had even walked right past them. But this was the first time I really observed one — the way its feathers were still a little uneven, how its beak seemed too large for its head, and the awkward confidence with which it hopped from branch to branch.
That moment took me back to what photography has been teaching me for years:
The world doesn’t lack beauty — we just fail to notice it.
When I first picked up a camera, I thought photography was about chasing grand moments — sunsets over mountains, iconic city skylines, dramatic portraits. Over time, I’ve learned that the most powerful photographs often come from moments that hide in plain sight. The wrinkle of a smile, the way light falls through a café window, the silent story of a half-empty bench in the park.
Photography has trained my eyes to slow down. To notice. To frame life, not just live it on autopilot.
It’s not that extraordinary scenes happen more often now — it’s that I’m finally paying attention to them.
And maybe that’s the real reward of any hobby. It changes how you move through the world.
For me, the lens has become a reminder that life is full of “baby crow” moments — small, easily missed, and deeply beautiful if we only pause to look.
So here’s my takeaway after all these years as a hobbyist photographer:
You don’t need to travel far, spend thousands, or wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is already here — it’s just waiting for you to notice it.
Your turn — What was the last “baby crow” moment you noticed in your life? Hit reply and share it with me.