Prismatic Fresnel Lens Rainbows Sliced Vertically Canvas Print

Concentric rings of faceted prismatic glass throw abstract rainbows patterns from vertical slices of a 1st Order Fresnel Lens housed in Point Arena, California.

The Fresnel lens was invented by French Physicist Augustin Fresnel in 1822. He designed the center of the brass and glass construction to be shaped like a magnifying glass that produces a powerful beam, while concentric rings of prismatic glass above and below bend the light into a narrow, concentrated beacon that can be seen from aboard ships up to 25 nautical miles away.

This Fresnel lens was placed atop the 115 foot tower of Point Arena Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse on the Pacific Coast, when the lighthouse tower was reconstructed in 1908 following the collapse of the previous lighthouse during the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

The lens weighs more than 6 tons and is over 6 feet in diameter but was successfully dismantled and removed from the tower in 2008 then cleaned and reassembled...

I'm a native coastal Californian transplanted to the foothills of the Cascades. Being near the mountains has afforded me the opportunity to become attuned to seasonal rhythms and infuse that sense of time and place into my nature photography. I love to take off on roads less traveled, especially when it means losing myself in some remote place until I feel like being found. My portfolio includes natural landscapes, wildlife portraits, botanical macros, vintage architecture, cool geological formations, ranch life and a sprinkling of eccentric oddities that captured my imagination. I invite you to take a moment to peruse my galleries and follow me on Twitter: @EclecticImages. I hope you'll find something that makes you smile! .