The Definition of Luck

Friday the Thirteenth brings to mind the question: Is it better to be lucky than to be good?  That depends, I guess, on your definition of lucky. 

If you just hope good things will happen to you, if you hope you'll find a winning lottery ticket on the sidewalk for example, well, then that depends on what you actually get.  If the lottery ticket is for $1M, well, then, yeah, in that case luck trumps everything.  But what if the lottery ticket is for another free lottery ticket?  Well, I guess that's better than nothing, but really, what's the point?  Even still, how long will your luck last?  Eventually, every lucky streak comes to an end. [more after the break]



I heard a definition of luck years ago that I really like:  Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.  I love this because it both recognizes the concept of plain, simple luck but reaffirms the necessity of preparation.  It also holds out the possibility of making your own luck by looking out for and seizing opportunity.  Preparation, however, is really the key.  Without preparation most lucky opportunities would be wasted.  I know I've wasted my share in the past because I just wasn't ready to seize the moment.  The photo above is an example of preparation meeting opportunity.

I was walking with friends along a pier in Martha's Vineyard with my M8 slung over my shoulder.  Rangefinders are notoriously difficult to learn if you're coming from an autofocus background.  The concept of hyperfocal distance is lost on most photographers nowadays.  Most autofocus lenses don't even have distance scales anymore making zone focusing extremely difficult, if not impossible.  If zone focused, however, then everything within the hyperfocal distance is in reasonably sharp focus.  The immediate benefit is that the camera doesn't have to acquire focus prior to shooting.  In short, no focus lag.  This can be extremely useful because even the fastest autofocus camera will first need to acquire focus and thereby cause a delay, however slight.

As we were walking along the pier, I had my M8 in my hand and saw the bird swooping down toward the water.  I knew I had the lens set to the its hyperfocal distance at infinity and that the exposure was set to manual using the Sunny 16 Rule.  The camera was ready and I was prepared; the bird presented an opportunity.  Without thinking, I quickly leveled the camera, briefly tracked the bird and snapped off one shot.  Yes, one shot only and I love it.

Preparation met opportunity and I was lucky.  Happy Friday the Thirteenth.