View from Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight (Evening)

Photograph of the Solent with small boats in the foreground and a larger vessel in the centre of the background. Sun breaks through the clouds, illuminating a stretch of water below.

This photograph is one of a series of sea scapes in which Wilson broke with photographic convention and shot his images directly into the sun, creating what was termed 'instantaneous' images. He modified his camera lens to avoid the reflections that photographers faced when photographing into the light. Wilson was influenced by the work of the French photographer, Gustav Le Gray (1820-84) who was famous for creating dramatic seascapes over which hung brooding skies.