Jean Guichard's Lighthouses
Jean Guichard is a prolific French photographer known for his
lighthouse photos. His best-known photo is “Phares dans la Tempete, la
Jument,” a dramatic view of a lighthouse engulfed in a huge wave, with
the keeper looking out from the doorway.
Jean Guichard was born on April 28, 1952 in Paris, France. During his childhood, he spent much of his free time with his grandparents in the Morbihan department in Brittany, near the coast where he would later take his lighthouse photos.
Guichard joined the Navy in 1971, sailing the Atlantic and Arctic oceans aboard the Commandant Bourdais. While in Greenland with the Navy, he purchased his first Nikon, financed by photos that he sold to the crew. After his Navy service, he worked for the Department of Commerce, documenting the travels of the minister of the department.
From 1977 to 1984, he worked as a photojournalist for the Sygma agency. During these years he covered political personalities, including Jacques Chirac, André Giraud, and François Mitterrand, sporting events like the Los Angeles Olympics and the Paris-Dakar Rally, and political conflicts in Poland, Ireland, Germany and the Middle East. His work appeared in major magazines, including Paris-Match, Figaro-Magazine, Time, Newsweek, Bunte, and Stern.
In 1984, Jean Guichard continued his photojournalism career working for the Gamma agency.
In 1989, he was one of a group of photographers that created the GLMR agency. The agency would last until 1995. It was also about this time that he became interested in lighthouses. Many of his best lighthouse photos were taken during the winter of 1989 and 1990, which was one of the most violent storm seasons in history for the northern coast of France.
In 1990, Jean Guichard was awarded second prize by World-Press for his famous photo “Phares dans la Tempete, la Jument.” In 1992, he published his first book on lighthouses, which won a first prize, in the illustrated book category, at the Book Fair of Concarneau.
After the GLMR agency went out of business in 1995, Guichard became the director of l’Agence Générale d’Image.
The photo is available in several formats at Amazon, check it out!
Jean Guichard was born on April 28, 1952 in Paris, France. During his childhood, he spent much of his free time with his grandparents in the Morbihan department in Brittany, near the coast where he would later take his lighthouse photos.
Guichard joined the Navy in 1971, sailing the Atlantic and Arctic oceans aboard the Commandant Bourdais. While in Greenland with the Navy, he purchased his first Nikon, financed by photos that he sold to the crew. After his Navy service, he worked for the Department of Commerce, documenting the travels of the minister of the department.
From 1977 to 1984, he worked as a photojournalist for the Sygma agency. During these years he covered political personalities, including Jacques Chirac, André Giraud, and François Mitterrand, sporting events like the Los Angeles Olympics and the Paris-Dakar Rally, and political conflicts in Poland, Ireland, Germany and the Middle East. His work appeared in major magazines, including Paris-Match, Figaro-Magazine, Time, Newsweek, Bunte, and Stern.
In 1984, Jean Guichard continued his photojournalism career working for the Gamma agency.
In 1989, he was one of a group of photographers that created the GLMR agency. The agency would last until 1995. It was also about this time that he became interested in lighthouses. Many of his best lighthouse photos were taken during the winter of 1989 and 1990, which was one of the most violent storm seasons in history for the northern coast of France.
In 1990, Jean Guichard was awarded second prize by World-Press for his famous photo “Phares dans la Tempete, la Jument.” In 1992, he published his first book on lighthouses, which won a first prize, in the illustrated book category, at the Book Fair of Concarneau.
After the GLMR agency went out of business in 1995, Guichard became the director of l’Agence Générale d’Image.
The story behind “Phares dans la Tempete”
During the night of December 20, 1989 the storm had broken windows and flooded the lower floor of the lighthouse, washing away the furniture and appliances. The keepers had taken refuge in the lantern room. The next day, they were awaiting rescue when they heard Jean Guichard’s helicopter. Keeper Théodore Malgorne opened the door. He realized it was not a rescue helicopter and headed back inside, just as the giant wave broke against the far side of the lighthouse and engulfed it. While this was happening, Guichard was taking pictures as fast as he could, ending up with a sequence of seven shots. Théodore Malgorne survived.The photo is available in several formats at Amazon, check it out!
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