What happened to the lighthouse keeper in Jean Guichards famous lighthouse photos?
The following report was written by Timothy Harrison and appeared on May 18, 2001 in the Lighthouse Depot publication in Wells, Maine. “For the first time ever in the United States, the famous French photographer, Jean Guichard, will be making a personal appearance to autograph his world famous lighthouse prints. “He is best known for his explosive ‘Wave’ photograph of a lighthouse, off the coast of Brittany, France, showing a keeper at the door about to be engulfed by a titanic wave. The photograph is truly one of the most recognizable lighthouse photographs in the world. When first seeing the famous photograph, most people assume that the lighthouse keeper must have been killed. “In fact, the keepers had been living in fear of death during the 1989 storm and at one point had taken refuge in the lantern room of the tower. Waves the night before had smashed through the lower windows of the tower, causing the structure to flood, washing away everything in its path including the televisi
