True Confessions

I'm feeling guilty, so I've decided to come clean. About a month ago, I posted our Christmas card photo, which we also had printed up and sent out to friends and relatives. Here it is again, to refresh your memory.

Some readers may have thought, "Wow, what a nice photo. Isn't Cabana such a good dog, so cooperative, to sit so nicely and look at the camera?" (Okay, maybe you weren't thinking that at all, but just humor me.)

Truth be told, it was all smoke and mirrors, a.k.a. PhotoShop.

This is what the real photo looked like. Because we didn't have a photographer or willing friend handy, I set my camera up on tripod and used the timer function. My family members would hold their pose while I composed the shot, then I would run to my designated spot, and the shutter would go off. But as you can see from the photo above, when I'd run to my spot, Cabana would turn to look at me.

She did this every time.

EACH. AND. EVERY. TIME!!!

Finally, we gave up and tried another tactic. In this photo, my plan was to PhotoShop myself into the frame. But instead, I ended up lifting Cabana out of this photo and inserting her into the other one. Two imperfect photos that, when combined, became a good-enough-for government-work photo.