“Two Classics”

Stone Manor and the yacht Louise on Geneva Bay in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

August 13, 2024

I was living right on August 13, 1995, when I made this photograph, meaning I was in the right place at the right time. (Will I ever escape applying that cliché to most of my photography? Probably not.)

Those of you familiar with Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin will recognize the building as Stone Manor, which has a commanding presence on the east side of Geneva Bay in Lake Geneva. The boat is the Louise, one of the Lake Geneva Cruise Line fleet of Gage Marine in Williams Bay.

Should you wish to learn more about the Louise, go to the Gage website. The most fascinating feature about the yacht is its steam engine, unlike the conventional gasoline and diesel motivation for the other seven Gage boats. You can barely see a wisp of steam in the photo.

I had the opportunity to do this photograph thanks to my friend Bill Frantz, who had a long-time photography studio in Delavan and had a variety of clients, assignments, and projects. He retired several years ago and moved to Ohio.

In his prime, Bill mastered his craft and could do commercial, industrial, wedding, portrait, event, and product photography. Just about anything! I always was impressed by his imagination as well as his cool disposition whenever I assisted him on shoots.

One shoot was that summer day years ago during an event that included three Gage boats departing from Lake Geneva Country Club. I was on one boat doing candid photos of people enjoying themselves and the beautiful views of the lake and the shoreline. Bill and his longtime assistant Chris Faytle were on the other boats.

When I received the assignment from Bill, I realized I would have opportunities to do personal photography in between the people photos, which, by the way, were in color. So, I brought along another of my Leica cameras loaded with black-and-white film.

“Two Classics” is one of my images from that day. I was at the stern of one boat looking back at the Louise, and fortunately I could put Stone Manor in the composition.

To order a print of this photo, go to https://www.frednoer.com/lake-geneva/p/two-classics-in-lake-geneva-wisconsin.