By now we all know the story: with technological advances, media mergers and shrinking markets, the job isn't what it used to be for the editorial photographer. A few years back, a magazine assignment might have meant anywhere from ten to 14 days' work. Now it's down to two or three, which means that whatever edge time once gave us is gone. There's no waiting around for the good light anymore.

But I still love telling stories in pictures. When I get an assignment I get the same rush of excitement I got when I began my career. The challenge now is to deliver better pictures in less time, and I do that by planning carefully, being creative and staying flexible. I still believe in what one of my colleagues at National Geographic once said: "The photograph doesn't happen until I get there."

Last spring an editor assigned me to photograph the crab shacks of Maryland's eastern shore. I was delighted. This would be fun, a fresh and welcome change from most of the work I'd been doing over the last decade, work that centers on global health issues and social concerns.

The only catch: I had just two days to photograph everything for the print publication, with a third day to shoot a picture story on a waterman, one of a vanishing breed who make their living bringing in crabs and other bounty from the Chesapeake Bay. This photo essay would be used in a multimedia feature on the publication's website.

The publication expected full coverage: catching crabs, of course, and local folks eating them, but also food photography and the flavor and lifestyle of that part of the Chesapeake Bay. The eastern shore of the bay is a big region. It takes about four hours to get from one end to the other, so I had to make my time count.

That's where planning came into play. After reading the writer's text, I called him. We talked at length about what he'd seen and his priorities, so I could manage my priorities if I ran short on time. Armed with a list of all the areas he mentioned, I scouted the locations online, trying to see how visual they might be. I checked weather predictions for the assignment days. I called the waterman I would cover for the photo essay and learned about his work routine—and the ferry schedule to get to the island where he lived. This last was critical: the ferry ran only once each day. I couldn't afford spending extra time on the island, and I certainly couldn't afford to hire a boat.