Light Shining On White

“Women think of all colours except the absence of colour. I have said that black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.” ― Coco Chanel. Today is a WHITE day.  I hope this theme inspires admiration and appreciation in you, as I feel when I see white in its many shades.  That’s exactly what happened when I walked past the white roses for the umpteenth time today. I had a lightbulb moment.  No colour was what I’d do.  Not monochrome, that’s for another day—just plain old white.

I have had a love affair with white for at least 12 years now. My passion for white and its shades has shaped my perspective.  At one stage, my Precious warned everyone that they shouldn’t get too close to me, especially if I had a paintbrush in my hand, as they’d be painted white. I want to share this love to inspire a similar appreciation in you.     

The painter greeted me with a huge smile when we arrived to see how their progress was when we renovated our home.  They’d painted the fountain WHITE; the cherub, which had taken 25 years to get all nice and lichen-greeny-black and slimy, was deathly white.  They beamed even more as my jaw dropped and all colour drained from my face!  It’s still not quite the way I like it!

I opened all the cupboards in the house and turfed out some of the white things: antique embroidered linens, cutlery with bone handles, crockery, jugs, flowers, even my defoliator.  In the late afternoon, I set up my tripod and macro lens to capture the intricate textures and subtle shades of white, starting my photography session to showcase their beauty.

As the light changed, so did the shades of white, which almost became yellow, pink, mauve, and touched on grey.  Never underestimate the lighter shades of pale.  50 Shades of White, they're all here.

I tried different ISOs and varied shutter speeds; apertures got larger, and shutter speeds got slower.  With my macro lens, I have to use an aperture of at least 32 to get a broader band in focus.

Textures and layers deepened with the Macro lens too.  Irregularities and flaws in the “subjects’ were highlighted by the lack of colour, which normally would draw the eye.  I find this fascinating and want you to see the beauty in these subtle details.

Here and there are touches of subdued colour which I tried to subdue even more by jacking up my contrast.

There are more photos than usual, but the subject was incredibly interesting, and I couldn’t stop. It’s very late; I need to get this out.  Good night!

“I had a dream about you. Our relationship faded from red to white, and somewhere in the middle, in the pink zone, I told you I loved you, and you returned it. However, at white, our relationship went black, and I sought red in the arms of another woman.”― Jarod Kintz, Dreaming is for lovers.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog. If so, do SUBSCRIBE and follow my progress as I explore the beauty of white through my photography and reflections. I'd love to hear your thoughts and inspire you to see white in new ways.