Debbie's Christmas Card

In early December I met my friend, Debbie, her husband, Dick, and their two cute,little dogs, for a Christmas photo shoot at Kennesaw Mountain. As a rule, I really don't like to take pictures of anything or anyone that breathes. When one breathes, one moves, and that makes it difficult to get a clear shot. Now I know that I could increase the shutter speed, but in this case, that would necessitate taking my frozen hands out of my gloves to move the button on my camera. Here is an example of what I'm talking about. Dick is trying his best to get control of the white one. Debbie told me a thousand times what her name was, but my brain was concentrating on getting THE SHOT.

The white one is cute and playful, while the brown one is behaving. But wait, it doesn't stop there.

Dick and white one continue to play. I'm thinking, "We've got work to do. This will have to stop."

And it does, for minute or two. Everybody seems to be calming down.

Oh, no, here we go again, only this time it's the brown one.

Someone has got to get control of this situation. I'm thinking, "Hey! I'm over here! Look in the camera."

Now we're ready, but somebody moved. The camera? This one would have been perfect. My fault.

Debbie, you have got to get control of yourself!

FINALLY! Got the shot! It just needed a little tweaking.

I just added a little vignette and it's a Christmas card !

Here's what I learned: 1. If I'm taking shots of animals, take treats. 2. Learn the names of all involved so when I need their attention I can use their names, and not just make weird noises.That goes for the dogs, too! 3.Don't take outside shots in less than 50 degrees. And finally... 4. Use a remote. That would enable me to get closer to the subjects without moving the camera. Maybe I'll get one for Christmas. Are you reading this, Tom?

Thanks, Debbie and Dick. I had fun and learned a lot. Next year? Maybe I'll have my remote.