William Albert Allard has shot over 40 stories for National Geographic, and in the short video above he shares some of what he’s learned since starting his career for the magazine as an intern in 1964.

The video is part of an ongoing series of short interviews being produced for the magazine’s PROOF blog in which seasoned National Geographic photographers talk about their craft, explain what makes photography special to them, and often share incredibly useful gems of wisdom along the way.

Among other things, Allard talks about how he needs to live right in the middle of his story, the debt of gratitude he owes to serendipity and how the difference between a good picture and a “really fine picture” is frequently “a matter of inches.”

We’ll let you hear the rest from the man himself, so check out the video at the top and head into the weekend inspired.