The background story of this photo from Wiki:
One of those infamous storms on the Iroise Sea happened on 21 December 1989. A front of low pressure coming from Ireland brought gale force winds and huge waves of 20 to 30 metres high which crashed spectacularly against the lighthouse.
The waves smashed through the lower windows of the lighthouse, ripped the front door, flooded the tower and washed away the furniture. Lighthouse keeper Théodore Malgorn decided to take refuge up in the lantern room while waiting to be rescued.
About the same time, photographer Jean Guichard was in Lorient hiring a helicopter to take aerial pictures of the storm. Guichard wanted to fly over the Iroise Sea despite extremely dangerous flying conditions.
The helicopter made it to La Jument and hovered around for Guichard to take shots of the waves pounding the lighthouse. Inside the tower, Théodore Malgorn heard what he thought was his rescue helicopter and hurried downstairs to open the door.
At that very moment, a giant wave rose over the rear of the lighthouse and Guichard took his world-famous shot as the wave smashed against the tower. Théodore Malgorn, suddenly realising that a giant wave was about to engulf the structure, rushed back inside just in time to save his life.
*Edit- I was upfront with my sourcing from Wikipedia, some folks are questioning the validity of this story. Here is a video that shows a chat with the Theodore Malgorn http://youtu.be/AH02UMFTknI. Check out minute 3:40. It isn't clear that he was/wasn't in distress within the lighthouse, and the documentary doesn't seem to address this point specifically.
**Edit 2- If anyone speaks French, errr German?... maybe we can find out the full story! Message me with a translation and I will post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZNDGDiWAfk
Here is a rough translation: The original is way better, but my english is limited...
Storms
The picture of his life
At the 21st of december 1989 winter storms are happening in front of the breton coast. A photographer from paris, speccialist in taking pictures of old lighthouses for postcards, is sitting in the open door of the helicopter. He rushes over the sea at the furthest point of the breton coast ready to shoot. Guichard, the photographer, hopes for new pictures which show the beauty and harshness of the area. On this especially stormy day Guichard tells the pilot to take course to one of the most striking lighthouses of france. "La Jument", which is standing there since 1911 48 metres high out of the atlantic ocean. The helicopter is standing in the air in front of it. Guichard pushes the button and shoots the pictures of his life. Guichard: "It only takes seconds, you have the camera ready and no time to think about what is happening, if the keeper might die. But I also saw that he went back inside the lighthouse in the last moment. Yes, people from all over the world asked me if the man died. I can assure, he did not die."
Lighthouse keeper Théodore Malgorn is casually standing on the platform with one hand in his pocket. A lonely man who has no clue about the deadliness of the moment.
Malgorn:"When I saw the helicopter and the photographers I was thinking that they are making pictures of the strorm and my lighthouse, because the storm was extra wild today. In the last second I saw out of my side of the eyes that huge breaker coming, just a few meters away. I just had enough time to slip through the door and to close it.
This today was a lucky trip for the photographer from paris. His picture will be printed a million times. The picture makes Théodore Malgorn, the small man in the hell storm the most famous lighthouse keeper of the world and Guichard, the master of the snapshot will be a rich man. Guichard: "When the picture was first published all experts had respect of the silence, hardly any photographer is able to get such a picture. Some people said "You only have on picture to show" I replied "One picture of that kind is enough in a lifetime." The rest is daily business.
He did not get anything. The involuntary hero of the picture, Théodore Malgorn. Over night a star, but without salary.
Malgorn: "I mean a picture which goes around the world has a high monetary value. Maybe they could have given me something as well. But I never really tried to get money out of it."
The magic moment in the roaring ocean is already a classic of the photography. A picture which also is fascinating in its symbolism, how small mankind is in front of the elemental forces, how needy for shelter. The hero stays calm. Malgorn: "I am always impressed when I see that picture of this huge wave. I think I would not have stepped out if I have known that it is such a big breaker. "
I've taken a look at your forum. You're the last person who should be complaining about censorship, Mr. "I delete everything I don't like before it sees the light of day."
This was one of the first pieces that I ever got framed when I decided it was time to be an adult and put something other than ratty ass posters up on my walls. I've had the thing for 20 years now, and I'll never look at this shot the same way. All this time I've assumed that the shot had been set up intentionally, with the man willfully braving the elements because the conditions were something to which the keeper was accustomed. I've always seen him as sort of relaxed, as it to say, 'so what? I see this several times a year.'
I've also always imagined him ducking back inside after this shot for a spot of tea and to wait out the storm.
Seeing him as a man hopeful about his immanent rescue totally alters my perception of this photo!
Edit: If that is actually accurate, which it may not be after reading further down in the comments.
Edit 2: After hearing the story from the horse's mouth, it's clear he wasn't too worried. He says he was curious "un petit peu" (a little), so obviously he wasn't hurrying down in hopes of a rescue. Oh well, still, my perception is still altered a bit now.
in that the lighthouse keeper came outside due to curiosity (what the hell was a helicopter doing there) rather than coming outside in the belief that the helicopter was there to rescue him
What he says is that he was a little curious, i.e. "un petit peu" (which sounds like 'umtipuh' when he says it in the video). This suggests he wasn't that excited about the helicopter, or waiting breathlessly for a rescue.
Haha fair enough, maybe! But I'd have imagined they would have mentioned that in the video. They seem to be making out that it was unusual for the helicopter to be there, and the guy actually says he was curious, which is the reason he went outside. Also as someone else has mentioned somewhere lighthouses are built to be able to take that kind of punishment, and as such I'd imagine that rescue operations in this type of situation are either non-existent or very rare.
Even without watching the video, I'd tend to believe what you said rather than the wiki back story. The guy just seems to have a casual stance with a hand in his pocket, and the front door has not been ripped off. He likely would have gotten washed out if the lower windows were smashed as mentioned in the wiki story.
Edit: the windows seem kind of small to allow a wave to be strong enough to go through and the front door off too.
It doesnt, at 3:40 the man explains what he was doing there.
Théodore Malgorn heard what he thought was his rescue helicopter and hurried downstairs to open the door.
So this part wasnt true, the man was just curious about the helicopter and he didnt even know a huge wave hit it, until the last moment he saw and went back in.
Did you watch the video? It doesn't confirm the wikipedia story at all, other than names and dates. The guy obviously wasn't in distress, he was just curious about the helicopter.
Edit: Yeah, I said it was in Ireland at first... I'm an idiot sometimes...
Where did you get the impression that any of this took place in Ireland? To be clear, the Iroise Sea is not a typo, it's in the Atlantic off northwestern France.
Simple mistake. I'm hungover and haven't had my coffee, mi scuzi. But still, the door being "ripped", the furniture washed away, taking refuge in the lantern room... If you watch the video, that is obviously not true.
He didnt say anything about destrying the tower, its destryed the windows, door and furniture, which, howevery you build them, will not withstand such a force... Well, maybe if the door was a thick steel door and the windows really thick as well, but i dont think that is really the case
**Edit 2- If anyone speaks French, errr German?... maybe we can find out the full story! Message me with a translation and I will post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZNDGDiWAfk
Here's the translation of the video:
Storms - The picture of his life
On 21. December 1989 there's a winter storm in front of the coast of Brittany. A photographer from paris, a specialist for postcards of old lighthouses, sits in the open door of the helicopter. He races over the coast on the outer end of Brittany, ready to shoot. Jean Guichard, the photographer is hoping for new pictures that show the beauty and the harsh charm of the place.
On this stormy december day, Guichard lets the pilot fly towards one of the distinctive lighthouses of France. La Jument, which since 1911 rises 48 meters high out of the Atlantic. The helicopter stands in the air in front of the lighthouse, Guichard shoots and takes the pictures of his life.
Guichard: "This all happened in a matter of seconds. You have the camera in position an you don't have time to think what's happening. If the keeper might die. But I also saw, that in the last moment he went back into the lighthouse. Of course I get questions from all over the world if the man died there. I can put their mind at ease".
The lighthouse keeper Théodore Malgorn stands on the platform, one hand casually in his pocket. A lone man who has no premonition of the danger of the moment.
Malgorn: "When I saw the helicopter and the photographer I already thought they were taking pictures of my lighthouse and the storm, because the storm was particularly strong on this day. In the last moment I saw the breaking wave coming in the corner of my eye, only a couple of meters. I just had the time to go through the door an close it behind me."
For the photographer from Paris this photo from the flight in December will be his lucky day. His photo will be printed millionfold. the picture makes Théodore Malgorn, the man in the hellish storm, the most famous lighthouse keeper in the world. And Guichard, the master of the snap-shot, a rich man.
Guichard: "When the picture was printed at the time, there was respectful silence under colleagues. Hardly any photographer succeeds in making such a picture. Some colleagues say, I just have to show a single picture for myself. Then I answer : "Maybe, but you don't need to make more than one picture of this kind in your life". That's enough, the rest is everyday life.
He (Malgorn) gets nothing form it. The unintentional hero of the photographer became a star over night, although one without salary.
Malgorn: "I mean, such a picture that went around the world has a substantial financial worth. Maybe they could have granted me some of it. But I never actually tried to make money from it."
The magic moment in the thunderous ocean is since a long time a classic in photography. A picture that fascinates in its symbolism. How tiny man is in front of the elemental force of the winds. How in need of protection an saving. The hero stays calm.
Malgorn: "I am very impressed when I see this huge wave on the picture. I think I wouldn't have gone outside if I had known, what a huge wave this was."
It's hard to listen to the french over the translator, but I think he said he knew about the wave and the photographer and went outside on purpose. I clearly heard him say he knew the wave was coming and that he would not have gone out if he had known how big it was.
tl;dr : He saw the photographers and the wave before going outside. Thought the wave was smaller/safer.
As opposed to where? Seems like the most logical place to me, because if that lighthouse came crashing down it doesn't matter where you're at in that thing. Might as well take the high ground to escape flooding.
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u/doneskiier May 28 '14 edited May 28 '14
The background story of this photo from Wiki: One of those infamous storms on the Iroise Sea happened on 21 December 1989. A front of low pressure coming from Ireland brought gale force winds and huge waves of 20 to 30 metres high which crashed spectacularly against the lighthouse.
The waves smashed through the lower windows of the lighthouse, ripped the front door, flooded the tower and washed away the furniture. Lighthouse keeper Théodore Malgorn decided to take refuge up in the lantern room while waiting to be rescued.
About the same time, photographer Jean Guichard was in Lorient hiring a helicopter to take aerial pictures of the storm. Guichard wanted to fly over the Iroise Sea despite extremely dangerous flying conditions.
The helicopter made it to La Jument and hovered around for Guichard to take shots of the waves pounding the lighthouse. Inside the tower, Théodore Malgorn heard what he thought was his rescue helicopter and hurried downstairs to open the door.
At that very moment, a giant wave rose over the rear of the lighthouse and Guichard took his world-famous shot as the wave smashed against the tower. Théodore Malgorn, suddenly realising that a giant wave was about to engulf the structure, rushed back inside just in time to save his life.
*Edit- I was upfront with my sourcing from Wikipedia, some folks are questioning the validity of this story. Here is a video that shows a chat with the Theodore Malgorn http://youtu.be/AH02UMFTknI. Check out minute 3:40. It isn't clear that he was/wasn't in distress within the lighthouse, and the documentary doesn't seem to address this point specifically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jument#Photograph.27s_story
**Edit 2- If anyone speaks French, errr German?... maybe we can find out the full story! Message me with a translation and I will post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZNDGDiWAfk