Silence

Egidio, of Through Brazilian Eyes fame, has presented us with a thoughtful task this week, for the Lens-Artists Challenge . He asks us to portray Silence. He frames his post by discussing the work of photographer Robert Adams, who identifies five core principles* when thinking about the photography of silence. I have borne these in mind, while not illustrating each one, as I had originally intended.

Here are some I came up with.

The silence of the beach on a calm day, in the early morning, or the early evening, when visitors have gone and the beach is yours alone.

Mossyard, Dumfries and Galloway

The aftermath of flooding in the countryside. The tractors, farmers and customary wildlife is silent, and the fields instead reflect the trees at the margins.

Winter fields near North Stainley.

The silence of the snow. No wind, no chatter of birds, no soft animal calls. We passers through are reduced to low murmuring, if we speak at all.

Near Montferrier, Ariège

The silence of the garden. Not a true absence of noise. Birds trill. Insects hum. A light breeze rustles the leaves. But there’s a silence here that stills the busy mind.

Our landlord’s walled garden that we’re privileged to use.

The silence of a deserted place. Early morning at Fountains Abbey. The place is empty of visitors. But the whole history of the place crowds into the mind: the tanners and builders and labourers and chanting monks. They’re silent now. And so are we.

Fountains Abbey.

Lastly, a terrible silence. A few years ago, I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. During the morning, we were taken round the site by guides who had been trained by former prisoners. They knew their subject well, and brought it vividly to life. In the afternoon,we were confronted by those tracks that brought the trains conveying hordes and hordes of men, women and children to slave here, to die of sickness or starvation, or to be killed in the gas chambers. There was nothing whatever to say. We were utterly silent.

Auschwitz-Birkenau
*Silence of light. 
*Silent witness to environmental change. 
*The silence of the subject.  
*Silence as a form of protest.  
*The silence of the viewer

My featured photo shows the lakeside at Kiplin Hall, North Yorkshire.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

58 thoughts on “Silence”

  2. Powerful stuff, Margaret! I especially love your sad, reflected trees, and those strong shadows on the snow.

    I hope the Barcelona family are still ok? What a month it’s been!

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  3. Thanks, Team Barcelona, who live up a steep hill thank goodness, have had nothing worse than heavy rain. Thank goodness. That snow picture brings back such wonderful memories.

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  11. Margaret, these are breathtaking photos. What a treat it is to look at these images and soak in their silence! The featured image alone is stunning. The entire gallery had me sighing in joy. Thank you for joining the challenge.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I was going to enthuse about the beauty in your reflections and snow shots, but the last one brought me up short. Such a very different and uncomfortable sort of silence …

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  13. oh my goodness Margaret these are all very powerful in their own way – almost leave me silent just looking at them. Grateful for the beauty mixed in with them, and even more that your family are safe up a hill

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  16. Wow Margaret, you have got some great images here for the challenge. I always think snow is so silent and that last one, I think even if lots of people were there it would be silent.

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  20. This is a very reflective and photographic insight into silence. Of course Quakers do silent worship but not sure a photograph of this would capture the many silences you have. And of course the dark silence of so much suffering and death.

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  21. Hi Margaret

    I like your Silence photos. Snow. reflections and mist are very aprpropriate.

    I’ve attached 4 of mine

    Jonet is recovering well from a shoulder operation

    Best wishes

    Richard

    >

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Dear Margaret
    Of all your fine pictures we like most this of Montferrne in snow. We immediately associate silence with seeing it. Besides this, we like the graphics of it as well.
    Well, Auschewitz-Birkenau makes us speechless.
    We wish you a happy weekend
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Your photos beautifully translate silence into something visual, but the last one is of course something else entirely. You are right that such horrors must be remembered.

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  27. Margaret, as always you post is beautiful and the snowy scene is particularly lovely. But with several others I found your visit to the concentration camp was most notable. We have not been but our son has and he felt as you did. A painfully meaningful reminder of the past which is a stark warning of what we must guard against as our world turns more and more dangerous.

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    1. It’s not so long ago that it felt realistic to feel this might never happen again. Nowadays … such certainty feels misplaced. But thank you, yes, that day in the snow was memorable indeed, for all the right reasons.

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