Many photo opps involving the prime minister are simple affairs. He could, for instance be posing with a nail gun at a construction site or conversing with a child playing the violin.

Wednesday, however, was a feat of military precision.

The Coast Guard's Pierre Radisson ship and the submarine HMCS Cornerbrook lined up on one side of the frigate HMCS Toronto. On the deck of Toronto, was a gaggle of reporters, cameras at the ready.

Then, Defence Minister Peter MacKay sauntered onto the deck with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. They stopped to make idle chit chat until urged by handlers to move forward a few metres in order to have them perfectly positioned with the other two vessels in the background.

But wait! There's more! Three CF-18 jets flew past in formation. But the fly-by was a little too fast for some camera operators and photographers to catch the entire montage of sub, jets and coast guard, so the CF-18s passed over four more times.

— Alison Crawford