In Memoriam: George Silk, 87
October 28, 2004
By David Walker
George Silk, a staff photographer at Life magazine for nearly 30 years, died October 23 in Norwalk, Conn., of congestive heart failure. He was 87.
Recognized for his technical innovations, Silk mounted cameras on skis, surfboards, and boat masts for dramatic effect. "The camera was in a position that the photographer couldn't be," explains John Loengard, a former picture editor at Life.
"George became a great sports photographer by looking at sports from wholly new angles," says Philip Kunhardt, a friend and former managing editor at Life.
Silk also developed what he called a strip camera, attaching a wind-up motor from an old record player to a racetrack photo finish camera. The film moved past the open shutter, making his subjects oddly elongated and giving the images a sense of motion. Silk used the camera to make memorable images of hurdlers and other athletes at the 1960 Olympic trials, as well as Halloween images of his children and their friends.
Born in New Zealand, Silk began his career in 1939 as a combat photographer for the Australian Ministry of Information, and joined Life in 1943. During World War II, he photographed action in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific, approaching his work with a streak of idealism. "He naively thought he could take pictures [to show people] the horrors of war so there would be no more wars," says his daughter, Georgiana Silk. "That's how a 23-year-old thinks."
Silk had his share of close calls in combat. Captured by Rommel's forces in Libya, he managed to escape after several days. On D-Day, he was the only survivor in a glider crash in the South of France, and he was later wounded by a grenade while advancing on Germany with Allied forces.
After the war, Silk photographed outdoor, adventure and sports stories for Life. In addition to covering the Olympics, he photographed sailing and surfing events, which were both lifelong passions. "He wanted to bring the excitement of it to people," says his daughter.
"George was superbly versatile -- he was at ease with every subject, technical or human," says Barbara Baker Burrows, a longtime Life picture editor. "He was also lovably cantankerous, a larger than life character who would break into Waltzing Matilda' with only the slightest excuse."
Silk is survived by his wife, three children, eight grandchildren and a brother. An exhibition of his adventure photography can be viewed online at www.nga.gov.au/Silk/Index.htm.