Tag: Silent Eye School

Truth and her sisters

Our modern age speaks glibly of the truth. We might even liken it to ‘knowing’ and entertain the idea that there is truth and Truth. The former would be a convenient or ‘conventional’ truth, a truth accepted as normal by the more prosperous world. But Truth with a capital ‘T would be an appreciation, a living understanding, and a state in which we could … Read More Truth and her sisters

The Last Feast

©Stephen Tanham 2023 Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, a journey through the forest of personality to the dawn of Being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog

Long and winding road

The small village of Skelsmergh lies at the end of one of the long, twisty lanes that follow the valley of the River Mint and eventually merge onto the A6 trunk road: formerly the main highway across the Shap Summit to Penrith, then on to Carlisle and Scotland. The M6 motorway reduced the A6’s critical role … but left it much less frantic for … Read More Long and winding road

A LAP with the Gods

4:30 wake up, 5 a.m. leaving, 5:30 a.m. breakfast, 6 a.m start… It was the final communication before they set off… With 47 miles of gruelling mountain trail ahead, our intrepid walking companions – John and Angela, launched themselves into the dawn of a beautiful May morning, along with hundreds of other walkers, each determined to pit themselves against an entire circuit of all … Read More A LAP with the Gods

Death and Resurrection

For the mystic, Easter is about symbols… Being doesn’t break through the barriers into normal life very often, though it is the very substance and energy of its existence. The journeys in the gospels are those of the individual soul, learning the fundamental truths of their own existence – which then expands to be existence, itself. For me and many others, Easter is about … Read More Death and Resurrection

Musings on a Silent Night

I received a nice little present from WordPress the other day: a certificate to say I had been blogging with them for ten years! Ten years… Where did they go… Back then, Sue Vincent was our Silent Eye blogger – and she already had a large online following. Persuading her to join the fledgling Silent Eye was doubly beneficial: I got an excellent foundational … Read More Musings on a Silent Night

Images of Consideration

I read a lot into nature… I study the natural world around me carefully; a lot of my joy in taking photographs is that it helps me to ‘see’ what’s there in more clarity. It’s remarkable what being considered with a landscape can do, and how it deepens your sense of truly ‘being there’. Such acts of considering were central to what the philosopher … Read More Images of Consideration

Lines on Stone

It’s amusing to watch your own progress with a pastime, hobby, or even a skill. I was new to creative photography a few years ago, and set about it with the usual Gemini enthusiasm. It doesn’t take long before you’ve taken hundreds of shots, some of them credible renderings of beautiful things – like our local River Kent, or buildings, or even skies – … Read More Lines on Stone

All the world’s a stage…

We could imagine ourselves as a leading actor in a play. There are other actors, but we have something unique… The play is written around our character. We are the only performer who can describe the play from the inside – our ‘inside’. We infer that others can do this, but we have a unique perspective on our view of the play. We have … Read More All the world’s a stage…

Time, place and lens

The River Kent forms a natural heart to the village of Sedgwick. The river has many faces. In 2015 it saw some of the worst floods in the region’s history. But most of the time, it’s peaceful and beautiful. It has some special moods, but you have to be there to photograph them. Not a matter of skill, rather right place at the right … Read More Time, place and lens

The subtle art of cropping

The raw picture had some pleasing elements. The ‘follow-line’ from the foliage down to the sea was attractive, but the width of the foreground diluted the impact. The first step was to deepen the ‘feel’ with a number of tonal changes. There’s no instant fix. It’s a process of trial and error. There is a danger of going overboard with the effects and making … Read More The subtle art of cropping

Nightmare in Béziers

In dream I woke and stood bewitched Before a door of oak and cedar To hear a voice that played upon A song of keys, part lost, part won And tugged and pulled my heart to be there With haunting glimpse of lifetime fixed As though my past had been remixed ➰ Who knocks? – In truth, I had not yet A saving grace … Read More Nightmare in Béziers