Born on the North Island of New Zealand, Silk first took up photography as a hobby in his youth. He learned his craft while working in a camera store in Auckland from 1934-39. His later role as a professional photographer grew through photographing his passions: fishing, yacht racing, skiing and motorcycling. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Silk took his portfolio of sports photographs directly to the office of the Prime Minister in Canberra and was hired as a war photographer. He covered war zones in the Middle East, North Africa, Greece, Crete and New Guinea for the Australian Government and Europe, Japan and China for LIFE.

Immediately after the war, George Silk turned away from war and political conflicts and returned to adventure, sports and exploration stories, the Olympics, the America's Cup, conservation and children. In fact, Silk became the first permanently assigned sports photographer at LIFE. During his career, Silk earned many awards including Magazine Photographer of the Year from various bodies between 1960 and 1964. Silk worked as a staff photographer for LIFE until the close of the magazine as a weekly in 1973.