La Jument

I have not contributed to Tillerman's blog photo assignment Blog Photos, but I did run across an amazing photographer who specialises in lighthouses.


The above photo was taken by Jean Guichard and you can see more on his website at Lighthouse Photos.


The photo is of a well known French lighthouse named La Jument located on Ouessant (in English Ushuant) offshore Brittany.  It is an area well known to mariners and is the site of some of the strongest currents in Europe with 7 knots normally and up to 9 knots.  There is a French saying "Qui voit Ouessant voit son sang" (He who sees Ouessant sees his blood).  It is referred to as "l'île de l'épouvante" (the island of terror) and "l'île des naufragés" (the island of the shipwrecked).


Getting back to the photo, it was taken in 1989 during a force 10 storm and the nonchalant gentleman at the door is the lighthouse keeper, Théodore Malgorne, who heard a helicopter containing Guichard (what the hell kind of pilot would take him out in such weather?) and apparently thought it was a rescue helicopter.   At any rate, he made it back inside in time and was unharmed.  And Guichard got an incredible series of photos - the above is one and you can see the rest on his website.