{"id":416089,"date":"2025-09-11T15:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/416089\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:15:14","slug":"works-by-maverick-aerial-photographer-to-go-on-show-next-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/416089\/","title":{"rendered":"Works by \u2018maverick\u2019 aerial photographer to go on show next month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Born in 1879, Buckham combined exceptional flying skill with a passion for photography to produce a number of \u201centhralling\u201d photos from the skies above the UK and overseas.<\/p>\n

His dramatic image Edinburgh \u2013 which depicts a biplane flying over the capital in about 1920 \u2013 will be displayed for the first time alongside the camera and original glass negatives he used to capture and create it.<\/p>\n

Other highlights include aerial shots of the Wallace Monument in Stirling and the Forth Bridge, a 1923 image of the London skyline, and airborne images of New York and the Andes taken during a 1931 journey through North and South America.<\/p>\n

His images depict some of the leading aircraft of the day, such as the two-seater Bristol Fighter and a 1920s airship, soaring through the skies above an array of stunning landscapes.<\/p>\n

The exhibition will also explore the creative processes Buckham used to bring his images to life, including his innovative use of the composite photography technique, whereby a \u201cjigsaw\u201d of negatives are combined to produce one picture.<\/p>\n

Louise Pearson, curator of photography at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: \u201cAlfred Buckham\u2019s eye-catching photograph of Edinburgh is one of the most popular artworks in the National Galleries of Scotland collection.<\/p>\n

\"BlackBuckham\u2019s iconic image of a biplane flying over Edinburgh will be displayed alongside the camera and glass plates used to create it (Richard and John Buckham\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis enthralling image becomes even more intriguing when you learn that it is a darkroom jigsaw \u2013 a composite photograph made through a combination of technical skill and creative vision.\u201dAlfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer tells the remarkable story of this maverick of early aviation whose adventures took him from aerial reconnaissance photographer to intrepid explorer, via numerous loop-the-loops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in London, Buckham learned his craft by teaching photography before joining the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916, spending most of his military career based at RAF Turnhouse, now Edinburgh Airport.<\/p>\n

Central Scotland proved to be a \u201cnatural playground\u201d where he refined his photographic techniques \u2013 with his preferred methods including standing in an open cockpit while mid-air, with his leg tied to the seat.<\/p>\n

Buckham experienced nine crashes in his lifetime, with one resulting in a serious throat injury that cut short his military career.<\/p>\n

\"BlackAlfred Buckham experienced nine crashes during his lifetime, one of which cut short his military career (Richard and John Buckham\/PA)<\/p>\n

However he remained undeterred, writing in an article in The Camera in January 1927: \u201cIt is not easy to tumble out of an aeroplane, unless you really want to, and on considerably more than a thousand flights I have used a safety belt only once, and then it was thrust upon me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always stand up to make an exposure and, taking the precaution to tie my right leg to the seat, I am free to move rapidly, and easily, in any desired direction; and loop the loop; and indulge in other such delights, with perfect safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

He died in 1956 at the age of 76.<\/p>\n

Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer is the first major exhibition dedicated to the photographer, and it can only be seen in Scotland.<\/p>\n

The free exhibition opens at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait on October 18, and runs until April 19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Born in 1879, Buckham combined exceptional flying skill with a passion for photography to produce a number of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-416089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115186324529671911","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}