The Mystery of the Photographer Statue - Solved!

In a previous blog post, I told you of my quest to find out about a certain photographer statue.  I'd see this statue from the freeway every time I traveled on I-90 near Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  On a recent trip, I took the time to discover how to access the statue, but didn't gain any clues as to who it was supposed to commemorate, or why it was placed on the lakeshore.

Our mystery man

Because photography is one of my hobbies, I always wanted to get a picture of myself next to the statue.  When I finally discovered its location, I was by myself, so I wasn't able get any images of the statue that included me.

Picture time!

However, Denise and I traveled back to South Dakota over the 4th of July, and our route took us by Lake Coeur d'Alene. Being the good daughter that she is, Denise agreed to humor her mother and stop by the statue for a photo session.

So I was finally able to get the picture I coveted!  Here I am with my buddy - the mystery photographer.

Leopold, my new buddy

Back home, I was showing Roger my photos, and telling him that I didn't know anything about this statue.  Roger suggested googling "Lake Coeur d'Alene photograher statue" and see the results.  I discovered a webpage about the public art in the Coeur d'Alene area, and this is what they had to say:

"Finally, slightly out of the realm of our tour, but certainly worth venturing out for is the whimsical statue by David Clemons that sits out at the end of Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive at Higgins Point on the Centennial Trail. It’s an old time photographer nicknamed 'Leopold', his camera poised to capture the beauty of the lake all year round."

Mystery solved!  (Thanks to the internet)