Sometimes my photos are filled with color: brilliant blues of skies and water, greens of leaves and grass, and other colors here and there.  But this week, I noticed that a lot of my photos had a lack of color…and plenty of white.

Last weekend’s visit to downtown Carlsbad allowed for a delicious lunch at a favorite restaurant, a refreshing walk on the beach, and an opportunity to visit the Carlsbad Alkaline Water Company…a place that hosts the most healthful water, known for its alkaline (rather than acidic) quality.  I’ve been by the place a few times, its a few blocks from where I get my hair cut, but this time I spent some time focused on the water storage tanks and the top of the self-serve water dispensers.  The white of the clouds make the metallic of tanks and spire even more prominent.

The death of Geoff’s mom meant an unscheduled visit to Alabama this week to spend time with family and say our goodbyes.  It also meant time in the sky high above the puffy white clouds, time to reflect and remember the woman who gave life to and raised my precious husband.  I was lucky to know and love her for so many years.

I was surprised at how green Nashville was from above, but couldn’t resist using a black and white filter on the view from above.  I love the way the absence of color changes the view to give it an almost map-like quality…particularly focused on the river (the Cumberland, I believe).  The white seems to highlight the human-made aspects, where the dark seems to be the greens of the lush vegetation.

You never know when you will find a parade.  The unexpected white police car with sirens screaming pulled up in front of the intersection we were about to cross, stopping traffic in all directions.  And soon we were treated to the Alabama A&M marching band, in their white t-shirts marching to the beat of the drums at the back crossing the intersection to get to another part of the campus to continue their practice.  A fun pause on our way to meet other family members for lunch after the inurnment service.

And no trip to Huntsville, Alambama would be complete without a glimpse of rockets.  Known for the Space and Rocket center, there is evidence of space travel around the city.  We did get the opportunity to visit the center–a place we hadn’t been since our boys were quite little.  We visited a science of rock and roll exhibit, explored the space shuttle, and learned about other rockets and space related equipment.  I loved this view from the window.

It’s good be home, easing back into my routine…such as it is deep into the summer.  In spite of warm weather, the beach was not sunny when I went today.  White clouds obscured the sun for most of my walk.  There were a few seagulls hanging out and lots of lots of beach-goers and a bunch of Junior Lifeguards (a popular summer camp program in our area).  The walk was refreshing and offered me a chance to breathe deeply.

So where is the color missing from your life right now?  Will you find it in white clouds, pale walls, delicate flower blossoms?  Take a look around for white and share what you find with us.

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #white for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

Take a look around for that absence of color that we know as white.  What will you find and document through your lens?