My photography assignment this week was to create one photo that is “The Ideal.”  I’ve had a tough time distilling that phrase into real life.  I took several landscape shots that to me represent the beauty of God’s creation, like this one:

And then I took a few close-ups of the flowers blooming — early — in my backyard.

On my way home from taking my daughter to school, this horse posed for me.  I’ve been wanting to get a shot of him every time I pass, but usually he’s out in the middle of his yard, paying me no mind.  Or maybe it was a she.  I didn’t get close enough to check. Ahem.  What you can’t see in this photo is the attentiveness this horse had.  It’s like we had a connection. Even though I was parked across the country road from him and stayed inside my car with the window rolled down…he heard the camera shutter every time I pressed it.  He BLINKED at me and shook his head a little, as if to say, “Aren’t I gorgeous?”  Look at those eyelashes! I wish I had brought an apple with me to share. (I know the lighting is off.  I had accidentally left my exposure compensation setting at +5.  Ack!)

This sunset also spoke to me of God’s creativity and glory, as seen through man’s fenced-in attempts to sort life and God into acre-sized boxes.  (I didn’t mean to get the “cross” of the gate right in the center of the photo.  That was an accident.  And although we’re supposed to follow the Rule of Thirds, I like it anyway.  Because the cross is in the center…where it needs to be.

Still His glory remains.  We can’t contain Him!

But none of these photos really expresses THE IDEAL.  An ideal is something that is…well, ideal, but not necessarily always attainable.  In discussing my photographic artist’s block, a sweet  friend suggested I try shooting photos of my Bible. Then I got to thinking: my quiet time with my Bible usually happens right before bed.  IDEALly, I would do this quiet time at the beginning of the day, before anyone else gets up.  And that’s why I shot this:

Then I had the idea to stage a photograph as the ideal quiet time — with a perfect cup of tea! Because I love Earl Gray, I made myself a pretty cup and set the scene. All of my photos until this have mostly been unstaged.  I shot what I saw.  But for these photos, I played around with the angles. And the tea. And the pretty bookmark.

I’m still not convinced which photo I should use or if I should stage another scene.  However, as a proud mom, I think this is probably the photo that best represents The Ideal.

She is the best of me!  The glow on her face is from the laptop in her lap.  The intense expression on her face reflects the wheels turning in her mind: she’s writing a story, working out the details as she types.  I love everything about her…from her pale pink complexion to her long lashes, golden wavy tresses — and that’s just on the outside.  On the inside I love her creativity, her genius, her quick wit, her intelligence, her sweet spirit, and her desire to be a peacemaker.

Because I can’t decide, will you help me? Which photo should I choose to be The Ideal?

Thanks for playing!