While it’s difficult to disregard the importance of being in the right place at the right time when it comes to photography, it cannot be overstated that it doesn’t matter if you’re not there with the knowledge and the tool to capture the moment.There are times when you’ve perhaps plotted your course with great preparation and study; looking at tide charts, sun/moon schedules, weather reports and driving time. And of course, there are the times that you just happened to have your camera turned on and BOOM! The universe provided you with something amazing right in front of your lens and all camera settings and reflexes conspired to make for one heck of a photograph.

Here we’re going to go with the preponderance of the latter, and try to nudge the idea of it towards the former, essentially forensically examining the reasons that the shot you love, the one that seemed to have more to do with luck more than anything else, actually happened because of your intention, perhaps more than you realize, and how you can prepare yourself, camera in hand, to make more of these moments happen.

Joe Navas is Cape Cod-based photographer and owner of Organic Photography in Orleans, MA. He currently serves on the Graphic Design Advisory Board at Cape Cod Community College. A life-long artist, Navas has shown his work in Provincetown, Orleans, New Orleans, Telluride and Wellfleet and it resides in private collections around the world.

Navas has been taking photographs since he was a teenager, professionally for 15 years, with the last 8 seeing it become his primary focus. His work, especially his most recent projects - centered on world class track and field athletes - has garnered him praise from around the photography world and will be the feature of an upcoming Boston showing.