How to get a good picture? Luck and a handy camera.

We don't get a lot of red foxes in our backyard. To be at the window at the moment one is sighted in the yard takes luck.

We don't always have a camera handy but when the fox showed up, a camera was sitting right there. More luck.

I zoomed the lens on the Fuji HS10, stood still at the window and began tracking the fox. It strolled into the open. I got the picture. And that took luck.

All too often, the importance of luck is overlooked in photography. Being there, and of course, being ready, are so very important when it comes to getting a picture.

Now, if only I had better equipment. Ah, that takes money.

As one gets older, one's shooting stance changes

When shooting children, the working rule is to get down to their level.

Soon I'll be 71. Ouch. My back doesn't bend as it once did, nor do my knees. I find myself shooting pictures standing up that I once would have knelt down to shoot.

With today's point and shoot cameras, one can hold the camera at waist level or lower and view the image on the screen filling the camera back.

It is not a perfect way of working but it is damn good. And it beats shooting down on little kids and totally missing including their faces in the pictures.

If you think about what you are shooting and have formed a clear idea about what you are trying to capture, you are well on your way to getting a fine picture.

Isla, my granddaughter, is a drama queen. Everything she does, she does with flare. It was clear I had to capture the magician's pose as Isla waved her wand and created long, tubular balloons.

This was not my first shot. It took a number of tries as the camera shutter was slow to fire. It is a hurry-up-and-wait camera from Canon. Isla, being three, was quick. I had to squeeze the shutter release as she just started sweeping her hand in front of her body. As it was late afternoon, there was enough light to force the camera to choose a fast shutter speed.

I know it is no longer cool but I still like to burn my edges - sometimes I burn too much. I may have gone a little far here, but I like it. And it even though I do this electronically using Photoshop, it brings back memories of the wet darkroom and working side by side with the other photographers at the newspaper where I once worked.