“Tumbling” and Being In-site-ful
Button’s Bay on Geneva Lake by Big Foot Beach State Park in Wisconsin
November 15, 2023
“Tumbling” is one of my favorite photographs, so it was an easy choice for my initial blog post and as the main photo on my home page. I am attracted to the image for its display of power in the churning waves, and I like the details, particularly the lines of the boats and the shiny boat ramp boards. The sun catching the layers of the waves adds another interesting aspect.
I did the photo April 30, 1991, at Van Dyke’s, a boat-rental business on the south side of Button’s Bay on the far east end of Geneva Lake. The business no longer is functioning, and the ramp has been replaced by a pier used by the Boat House Bar & Grill, which is across the road and next to Big Foot Beach State Park, and the Boat House Lake Geneva, which sells boats, rents buoys and slips, and has a boat club.
Waves on Geneva Lake often can be a barometer for the change of seasons. Strong winds whip up waves frequently during the spring, as this photo indicates. The same phenomenon occurs in the fall.
If I am interested in capturing wave action, the wind direction dictates where I go on the lake. Prevailing winds from the west make Button’s Bay a no-miss destination, but when the wind uncommonly blows from the north, east, and south, I position myself accordingly on the opposite sides of the lake.
Being In-site-ful
About navigating my site, my photos are organized by general location on the Portfolios page. It consists of nine portfolios – Geneva Lake, Lake Geneva, Fontana, Williams Bay, Delavan Area, Delavan Lake, Walworth County, Walworth Area, and Historic Walworth.
I always have held firm that Geneva Lake is the lake and Lake Geneva is the city. Invariably, though, you will see lake photos in the Lake Geneva portfolio, and that is because the portion of the lake in a photo is located in the city, such as Geneva Bay. However, overlap may occur, so scenes that technically may be in Lake Geneva, Fontana, or Williams Bay might be found in the Geneva Lake portfolio. You may need to look in more than one portfolio if you have a certain location or scene in mind.
I keep field notes of photo locations, but sometimes they are not exacting. Ideally, each Geneva Lake pier would be numbered on its shoreline end to help pinpoint locations, but obviously piers are not in year ‘round. Also, I do not name property owners’ residences out of a respect for privacy. Subdivisions, yes, to help place scenes.
I do not have a sophisticated filing system for my negatives. I catalog them in three-ring binders according to region or community as indicated by the portfolio names. Each binder is arranged chronologically. I mark each negative page with the date I did the photography, so if you are interested in a photo that corresponds to a certain date or time, I may be able to meet your needs. I do not file by subject, but if you tell me what you have in mind, I may have what you would like.
The Historic Walworth portfolio photos obviously are not mine because they were done decades before I was born! I have shown the photos to various people in Walworth, but specific years and photographer names could not be pinned down. I am showing the photos on my site because people may be interested in seeing how the village was way back when and would appreciate owning prints.
I built this site myself on the Squarespace platform, which is highly regarded. Still, I discovered aspects of displaying graphic elements and the photographs I wish could be modified but are locked-in template features. Perhaps customization is possible, but my site-building technical skills are limited, and I primarily wanted to post a basic site without dragging the project out longer than I already have. Fine-tuning always is possible.
Let me know if you encounter problems or annoyances navigating the site. I aim to please, and I want you to enjoy your site visits free of distractions.
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If you wish to comment or ask a question about this post, contact me at frednoer@att.net.