Works by ‘maverick’ aerial photographer to go on show next month

An exhibition of works by “maverick” aerial photographer Alfred Buckham is set to open in Edinburgh next month.

Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer will feature more than 100 photographs and objects, including a number of personal items loaned by Buckham’s family.

Born in 1879, Buckham combined exceptional flying skill with a passion for photography to produce a number of “enthralling” photos from the skies above the UK and overseas.

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

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.

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.

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 “jigsaw” of negatives are combined to produce one picture.

Louise Pearson, curator of photography at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Alfred Buckham’s eye-catching photograph of Edinburgh is one of the most popular artworks in the National Galleries of Scotland collection.

“This enthralling image becomes even more intriguing when you learn that it is a darkroom jigsaw – a composite photograph made through a combination of technical skill and creative vision.”Alfred 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.”

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.

Central Scotland proved to be a “natural playground” where he refined his photographic techniques – with his preferred methods including standing in an open cockpit while mid-air, with his leg tied to the seat.

Buckham experienced nine crashes in his lifetime, with one resulting in a serious throat injury that cut short his military career.

However he remained undeterred, writing in an article in The Camera in January 1927: “It 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.

“I 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.”

He died in 1956 at the age of 76.

Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer is the first major exhibition dedicated to the photographer, and it can only be seen in Scotland.

The free exhibition opens at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait on October 18, and runs until April 19.