In the documentary “Eye on the Sixties,” photographer Rowland Scherman laments that even relatively inexpensive cameras have the accumulated wisdom of Ansel Adams built into the camera. It is increasingly easy for anyone to take a good photo and much more difficult for dedicated photographers to distinguish their work via technical skill alone.

NVPS newsletter editor, Dan Ward, is our February Forum Speaker. He will talk about role of serendipity in photography – the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time to capture a special image. Scientist Louis Pasteur said “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Dan will share examples of ways some photographers consistently increase their odds of getting “a lucky shot” and include a few of his luckiest captures.

Dan’s first formal photography lesson was a few hours of coaching on how to use a fully manual Rolleflex Twin Lens Reflex. Appointed the head photographer for his high school, he quickly learned the exciting challenge of trying to capture fast moving events using a fully manual camera, light meter, potato masher flash, and plus-x film. Useable photos were usually the result of anticipating what would happen next and zooming with his feet to where the best vantage point would be. While he experiments with other types of photos, he still prefers taking candid images and will often be found out and about with a single 50mm f/1.4 lens, stalking the next “interesting” view.