Lake Lucern, 2019

As I walked along the shore of Lake Lucerne, amid a lively mix of tourists and locals, I came upon an older man. His walk was slow and diligent,... more

by Stephen Russell Shilling

Title

Lake Lucern, 2019

Artist

Stephen Russell Shilling

Medium

Photograph - Photograph - Archival Pigment Print

Description

As I walked along the shore of Lake Lucerne, amid a lively mix of tourists and locals, I came upon an older man. His walk was slow and diligent, assisted by a cane which he used with casual, learned grace. Not once while I watched him did he falter. His footsteps were calculated, stable.

Perhaps this was a familiar route for him, and I imagined his walking was part of a daily routine. Maybe he enjoyed being engaged in the vibrant life of a city whose pulse surged with each wave of tourists. Could it be that the speed of his surroundings, so different from his own, allowed him to feel more agile, more involved than he otherwise might’ve been? Was this daily routine a form of exercise, not merely for the body, but the mind as well? Did he imagine himself younger, just by being part of the crowd? (Did he even care about his age?)

There seemed to be a weighty nostalgia to his character. He would pause, taking time to look out across the water. His gaze would shift upwards to the mountains whose distant forms, lightly shrouded in haze, took on the shape of waves in rough water. His head would drop, his eyes now appearing to sweep across the dozens of boats available for rental, all of which read “Lic. not required.” Did he live here? And if so, for how long? Did he remember a time when he, like so many others, traded the firm, solid ground, for a few hours on the waves of Lake Lucerne? To me, it seemed as if he were daydreaming about being out upon the water. As I watched this man, cane in hand, I thought of the difficulty he would have climbing into a boat. Was he thinking this as well?

A boat was being brought back to dock. I took this opportunity to snap a quick photograph of the scene. I wanted to preserve this memory. Just after I did, the older man’s gaze lowered. He was looking at the ground now. Or maybe he was looking towards his cane. The returning vessel seemed to signal the end of the man’s daydream, and as the boat floated towards the shore, whatever thoughts he had been entertaining seemed to withdraw like the tides. I thought of how the mind often finds itself happiest when it is striving against monotony; when dreams and memories come and go like waves upon the shore.

Uploaded

March 11th, 2020