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Alfred G. Buckham
Flying Boat Over Sea
1920 (ca)
Gelatin silver print
45.5 x 37.6 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
Acc. No. PGP 197.21, © Richard and John Buckham
LL/56787
(Curatorial caption, accessed 23 November 2014)
This photograph captures the stormy ocean with its swelling crests of the waves illuminated white. Silhouetted against the threatening sky is a flying boat. This specialised form of aircraft was purposely designed to take off from, and land on, water. This feature was exploited during the World Wars but its use rapidly declined thereafter. Buckham was aware of the flying boat from his time in the Royal Naval Air Service and, specifically, his involvement in photographing the alterations required that allowed planes to take off from, and land on, a ship. Regarded as the leading aerial photographer of the day, Buckham felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”.
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