Almost everything in life boils down to being in the right place at the right time — or if not exactly that, some variation of it.

For instance, a little over nine years ago, if I hadn’t answered an ad for a room in a share house after relocating for work, I wouldn’t have met my lovely wife. Life would have been very different.

(No, she wasn’t a housemate; it was slightly more complicated than that. But if I hadn’t perused the classifieds in the Townsville Bulletin that day … OK, time to move on.)

Timing is especially important when it comes to taking good pictures. I’ve no particularly great talent for photography, but when I do get a nice shot, I always get the feeling that good timing was the principle factor.

When it comes to nature photography, I long ago decided that timing is absolutely critical. For how long does the sunrise cast a scene in that particular quality of light? For how long does the cardinal sit on the branch to preen its chest feathers before flying away?

When the entries roll in for this year’s Nansemond River Preservation Alliance photo contest, no doubt some good timing will be on display.

The theme for the 2014 contest is Work and Play on the Nansemond — though any Suffolk waterway could be the backdrop, according to organizers.

With no entry fee, the contest is a good one to try your luck with if you have a photo you think is good but aren’t sure enough to put money on it.

Have you been kayaking or canoeing and gotten a good shot? Maybe you work on the water and happened to capture something rare?

The deadline for the contest is Sept. 26, and entries can be submitted to photocontestnrpa@gmail.com.

Only two entries can be submitted by each photographer, and they must have been taken within the past two years. Images need to be in JPEG format and 4MB or smaller.

Suffolk’s waterways offer a plethora of opportunities for impressive photography and, like every year, the 2014 competition is bound to attract some impressive entries.

Images are judged on appropriateness of subject, technical quality and composition, and any that are submitted may be used in NRPA publications and on the group’s website.

The winning photo will be blown up on canvas and displayed to NRPA members at River Talk session in Eclipse’s Ruritan Hall.