Being in the right place at the right time is what good photography is all about.

To get the picture, you have to be there when it happens, right there in the thick of it. Nobody knows this better than a photojournalist. Turn up late, and you’ve missed the shot. It’s simply impossible to replicate certain situations. For instance, say you get sent out to a burning building, if you arrive on time, you can get shots of brave firefighters rescuing terrified residents, arrive late, and all you have is smoldering ashes.

Often the phone will ring in the middle of the night, and off you go, pulling on your work pants over your pajamas, with your poor wife laying dazed and confused by the blur of movement rushing to the door, dashing down the stairs and into the car, skipping red lights as you go, with the camera on the seat next to you, to the latest Chernobyl-like disaster to hit your news-patch.

But being in the right place at the right time is often thought of as pure luck.

If it is, then it is the luck of the poker player and the fisherman, rather than the lottery gambler.

This type of luck is made, not found.

Being in the right place at the right time requires thought, planning and dedication.

All pictures, they say, are born out of ideas, so the first thing to do is to think of the shot you want to get. Plan it, think it through and visualize it. Then think of a place where you are likely to find it, because there’s no point looking for a blizzard in the Sahara.

And then, put yourself in position and wait, patiently with your camera ready, so that when opportunity comes knocking, you will be ready to open the door.