National Galleries Scotland: Daredevil photographer Alfred Buckham who defied death to capture perfect shot

Now, the results of these exploits in-the-air of photographer Alfred Buckham are to be shared in a show of his glorious work at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait, from next weekend.

Buckham learned his craft while stationed at RAF Turnhouse during the First World War, when he took reconnaissance photographs in an aircraft made of - horrifyingly enough - timber and linen.

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The negatives gained while on duty were later, it is believed, used by Buckham to create some darkroom “magic”. There he merged shots, including from his collection of 2,000 cloud images, to reflect the sensations and views enjoyed high in the air.

Of his stunning photograph of the Edinburgh skyline, produced in the 1920s, Buckham said: “This is what it felt like for me to fly and this is what I was trying to recreate.”

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Buckham was known for his death-defying approach to photography. He suffered nine crashes during his long career, one which left him with serious damage to his voice box.

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Louise Pearson, curator of the exhibition, said : “His aerial photography was so dangerous and that is such a big part of the story.

“They used to measure it in having a one-in-four chance of coming back down again. So the fact that he survived into his 70s and had this incredible career is a story in its own right.”

Ms Pearson added: “He described himself as a daredevil. He acknowledged that he had that kind of spirit and when you read his own words, he definitely had that gung ho approach to flying.

“He said it was absolutely fine if you just tie your leg to the side of the aeroplane so you can hang out of it, and that it was perfectly safe.”

After his work became widely envied and enjoyed, Buckham was commissioned in the 1950s to photograph South America from the air.

At that time, aviation wasn’t advanced enough to take him across the Atlantic, so he sailed to New York and worked with more than 20 pilots on the assignment. He felt much frustration that he struggled to find one who would not fly over a live volcano.

Many images from this trip feature in the exhibition, with the shots providing a beautiful bird’s eye document of the newly built wonders of the Empire State Building and Christ The Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

Naturally, Buckham faced the risks head on.

Ms Pearson said: “When he went on this trip to America in the 1950s, he wasn’t a well man at that point.

“Over the Andes at a very high altitude, he didn’t take oxygen like the pilot did on the journey. He just accepted that he would have to ‘pass out until we land and it will be alright’.”

On his attitude to his work, Ms Pearson added: “There is a picture of one of his crashes where his plane is upside down in a tree and it has a caption ‘Crashed again’.”

The exhibition will also feature a dark room, where a film will be shown on his work.

Many images have been provided by Buckham’s grandsons, with Ms Pearson working closely with them on the exhibition. Over the course of putting it together, she felt she got to know the character of the photographer well.

But, despite her regard for the old daredevil, Ms Pearson said she would not have liked to have gotten in a plane with him.

- Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer at the National Galleries Scotland: Portrait runs from October 18 to April 19, 2026.