The Shore

The Shore, is a series of limited edition photographs that examine the edge between Lake Michigan and the land it sits beside. Schatz began working on The Shore while shooting photographs for his ongoing Lake Series project. Schatz visited the shore each morning for the Lake Series. And over time, he began taking additional photos. These photos however didn’t quite fit the serial investigation of the Lake Series. Out of these photographs emerged The Shore series. These images examine the boundary between the lake and the city. Between lake walls and water. Does the water fold out over the land or does the land disappear beneath the lake’s surface?

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The Shore XVI, shows Chicago, covered heavily in fog, along the Lake Michigan edge of the Gold Coast region

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The Shore XI

a ladder emerges from the blue waters of Lake Michigan, from The Shore series by Lincoln Schatz

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The Shore XV

a light tower sits out on a scorpion tail break wall that protects the man made beaches of Lake Michigan from the waters off shore, from The Shore series by Lincoln Schatz

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a sliver of ice forms along the edge of the wet concrete that sits at waters edge

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a photo from The Shore, a scorpion tail of concrete curves to the left into Lake Michigan with a muted sky

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graffiti appears at the base of a light tower stuck on a pier diagonally cutting across the photo from lower right to upper left corner, the right half is filled with a rich blue lake michigan and a sliver of light blue sky, from The Shore series

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The Shore XIV

here in another photo from The Shore, a concrete wall, with serrated steel edge, cuts across the photo from lower right to upper left corner, the right half is filled with green blue lake waters

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Willows in the Fog, The Shore XIII

willow trees stand in a heavy fog along the edge of Lake MIchigan, which is entirely obscured by the fog this morning, from The Shore series by Lincoln Schatz

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The Shore III

a scorpion tail of concrete curves to the left into Lake Michigan with a muted sky, from The Shore series by Lincoln Schatz

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submerged pier sits just underneath the waters surface of Lake Michigan

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The Shore I

from The Shore series by Lincoln Schatz, a snow covered beach on Lake Michigan, under cloudy gray skies

The Shore X

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The Shore II

a small diagonal of concrete at waters edge, a water that is deep green

The Shore IV

concrete steps go down to the lakes edge, blue-green water that is crystal clear

The Shore VIII

a foggy day with wet sands on Lake Michigan, with tracks of various machines and people, from The Shore series by Lincoln Schatz

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The Shore VI

a diagonal of concrete and pilings travel diagonally with blue waters on the right side

Contested Boundaries, The Shore

The edge, between water and land, is always being contested. This is something that can be seen in many of The Shore photos. Dramatic changes to the contours of the lake have occurred over the last few years. Each spring, warm weather has brought with it high waters. These waters are high enough to encroach on the man-made boundaries. Erected to keep them at bay. Even high enough to erase entire beaches that sit along the city of Chicago.

Now, lake waters pool out over concrete and grass permanently. The lake has pulled many things from land; loose barricades, traffic cones and other equipment. The Shore looks to these events and seeks to create a world that extends the Lake Series project in new directions. The lake it would seem, after all this time, still has new things to show Schatz. From fog draped mornings to deep winter, perfect summer weather and cold darkness.

More information on The Shore, including edition number, sizes, framing and pricing can be found here. Find out more about this and other ongoing projects here.