Silence—Capturing the Quiet Symphony of Mountain Landscapes

Capturing the Quiet Symphony of Mountain Landscapes

Words and Photos by Ryan Creary

Quiet moments... they come and they go in the mountains. Sometimes fleeting but always there when we slow the senses down a bit. The empty skin track rising skyward to the horizon; that first brushstroke of morning light hitting a mountain; or a perfect ski line left on a snowy face that fades into the shadows. These are some of the moments I seek to capture when travelling through snow-covered terrain; I’m always searching for subtleties of light and shadow play. When the action stops, what’s left is the minutiae of details that make up the whole of the experience.

The connections we have to the mountains are deeply personal for all of us. For me, I’m often looking to feel small in the grandeur of nature. I often place my subject in that context to showcase the scale and immense beauty of these wild places. That’s why I’m there, and being able to capture that through my photography continues to guide my work after 20 years of first picking up a camera.

So the next time you’re out there finishing up the best powder day you’ve had in weeks, don’t forget to stop and take in the sights and sounds of silence. Because sometimes it’s the quiet moments that can be the most memorable of the day.