2008 Photo of the Year

Little Lamb

photo by Bgrace

I thought about putting up my top ten photos of 2008, but choosing ten favorites out of the thousands that I've taken this year was just impossible. I have a couple favorites of each of my children and then my children with each other and then Matt. And then there are purely scenic photos that I love and others that aren't particularly photographic masterpieces, but that are very meaningful to me.

I just couldn't widdle it down to 10. But when I asked myself the question, "What is my favorite photo that I took this year?" there was no hesitation in my mind. It was this one. It's got beautiful composition. It was taken in the very back corner of an old stone barn. The girls and I were out looking for sheep one morning and stumbled upon a sheep farm less than 10 miles away. The farmer was so sweet and let us take pictures and then took us back to where a few sheep had just been born. The lamb Emily is holding is only a few hours old.

I had just been given my new camera (for Mother's Day) and I really had no idea what I was doing (even less than now). The light was BEAUTIFUL, streaming in through the window, but incredibly difficult to work with considering all the lighting contrasts in the dark barn. As Emily picked up the lamb by the window, I gasped--the picture before me was so breathtaking but I didn't know how to capture it.

The mother sheep kept stamping her foot at Emily and threatening to head butt her so I didn't have much time. Em was so content to cradle that sheep in her arms and the look of tenderness on her face and the way the sheep just laid his head on her shoulder almost made me cry. It was so beautiful.

It wasn't until after I had taken the picture and looked at it that I noticed the wooden beams forming a cross in back of her.

To me, it was not only breathtakingly beautiful, but deeply meaningful as well. There's so many nuances to the picture...Emily's middle name is Marie--a derivative of Mary. And so the song Mary had a Little Lamb always comes to mind. It is a beautiful representation of Mary, almost still a child herself, but also the mother of Jesus, holding her precious Lamb who came to take away the sin of the world. The cross in the background foreshadowing the crucifixion to come and the light of heaven breaking through the shadows to shine upon them both. The anointing of the lamb so glorious you can barely look upon it.

Oh, I know I didn't take the picture as well as someone else who knew what they were doing could have. I'm sure there was a way I could have corrected the lighting better. But as I looked at the picture, I realized that if it had been corrected some of the nuances might not have stood out so well, and some of the meaning might have been lost. So it may not be the best picture I've taken this year. But it might be the best picture I've been given. It is a picture of the Gospel.

Personally it is a reminder to me of what I have received.

It is a reminder to me of who I am. Child, mother, and lamb.

It is a reminder to me of what I am called to...a life of great blessing; a life of great sacrifice.

Happy New Year, my friends.

May 2009 be full of blessings such as these.