Moments in Switzerland

Filisur, 6 February 2020

Sadly, not to see what is in front of me seems one of the characteristics of my life. Until recently, the farther away, the better has been my guiding principle. This has not changed but I've been able to slightly modify it by increasingly becoming aware that I've been almost constantly on autopilot, a fact that I find at the same time fascinating and irritating. So, in order to become more aware of the present moment, I've started to make my camera (and mostly my cell phone camera) my companion. And, to ask local people what in their neighbourhood they would recommend to go and see.

Obersays, 14 October 2019

One day, I happened to visit Trimmis, a village near Zizers, where my mother was from, and discovered a street sign that pointed to Obersays, a place up in the mountains I had never heard of. Up there, I learned from a middle-aged wanderer that Pany (where she lived) had the most beautiful public outdoor swimming pool of Switzerland. And, so I decided my next trip would be to Pany (the swimming pool from where you have a splendid view of the Prättigau valley is indeed a gem). When I boarded the bus in Küblis, I got into a conversation with two women, a mother and her teenage daughter from Yverdon, who were on their way to St Antönien, another place I had never heard of and decided soon to visit.

Pany, 16 October 2019

My picture taking does not aim at documenting something typical, whatever that might be. Instead, I frame what pleases my eyes. Differently put, my photos often could have been taken almost anywhere. Fact is, however, they were not and the captions (that might be irrelevant for most) bring me back to the time and place where I once had been. It does not cease to baffle me how photographs create memories and can make me see moments in time.