“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” - Seneca
I’ve found this to be especially true in photography.
[ A Light To Guide Me Home ]
The photography of the sunset above was taken from the balcony of our room on board the Norwegian Pearl while docked at Juneau, Alaska. I’d made a mental note earlier in the afternoon that the sun would be setting over the harbor and that our balcony had a wonderful unobstructed view.
As evening approached I positioned myself and my camera gear on the balcony hoping for a nice sunset, I was prepared.
The sailboat in this shot was pure opportunity with timing better then I could have arranged.
My preparation and this opportunity created this “lucky” shot.
Now that would be wonderful in itself if it was all of the story, but a few minutes after this small sail boat passed, the passenger liner “Emerald Princess” begin backing away from her docking beside us.
I feared the timing of her departure would ruin an opportunity for an unobstructed sunset photograph but again I was prepared to make the best of whatever opportunities presented themselves. That’s when I took this second “lucky” shot above.
Two unique shots of the same sunset, I was overjoyed. But opportunity wasn’t finished with me yet.
The “Emerald Princess” began moving out of the Juneau harbor, directly between the Norwegian Pearl and the setting sun. For just a few opportunistic moments her bridge and upper viewing deck were silhouetted…with my lens at 200mm, lucky shot number three.
I also managed a number of photos of the unobstructed sunset. 
Were some of these lucky shots? Yes, but I’ll always claim I was prepared to be lucky, and the opportunities took care of the rest.
Do you approach photography prepared to be lucky?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Paul 06.15.08 at 10:00 am
Yes! Yes! Yes! I have twisted that saying a bit and say that “luck” is found at the intersection of preparedness and opportunity. I have a number of lucky shots myself. I figure that it’s simply a matter of quantity, the number of times that I show up, and activity, what happens that I see when I’m there.
All of the shots are wonderful. I still follow Craig Tanner’s mantra: Productivity = Creativity! If you go out and shoot every day, for sure you are going to get ‘lucky’ a lot more than someone else who does it once/week or once/month.
Earl Moore 06.15.08 at 11:14 am
Thanks, Paul. I totally agree with you and Craig.
You’re never going to get that great shot if you’re not out there with your camera.
I found each batch of photos I bring back has lessons to teach. I’m always looking at what I did and the results, thinking…next time.