Paisajes del Silencio

I rediscovered this book while reorganising some shelves - yes trying to find just a little more space for some books which are lying on the table causing grief.
From the inscription I recalled that I bought this in Quito in 1996, shortly before I left South America after a 5 month stay. I know I turned up in Sydney with less than $50 in my pocket, so I hopefully got a good deal on this book. My starting point in Australia for the year or so I hung about there might have been easier if I hadn't spend money on this, and I wouldn't have needed to carry this around. As I recall I slept the night in the airport until a friend could come and pick me up, and spend a few weeks living at her flat.

So given all the text in this book is in Spanish, and my language skills extent to a few yes/no and ordering beer in a few languages, and not much more, my review will concentrate on the photography, which isn't so limiting, given the nature of the book.

The photography in this book is nothing short of breathtaking. Clearly Pablo is interested in light, as the play of light features so heavily in so many of the photographs. They are primarily landscapes, and Ecuador has much to offer in this respect. The focus here is the beautiful mountain scenery of the Andes. There are other elements, such as prayer flags and rivers, the patchwork quilt of green fields, but they all come back to the mountains.

One short passage I translated:

It is what Carl Jung calls “synchronicity.” The light, the wind, the clouds had colluded and I had the privilege of being their witness.