Glenfield Ramblers' Nature Photography

After a change to the working hours for employees at Kilmarnock industrial machinery company Glenfield & Kennedy, a group of workers formed to plan trips and walks  to areas of beautiful scenery and fascinating history across the country. After working as a loosely affiliated group for 12 years, the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers Society was formally founded in Spring 1884.  These images were captured by a man called James Smith in the mid-1920s, and feature fungi as well as tree and flower blossoms. Many have been hand coloured to make them more visually appealing and to reflect the fungi and plant's natural colouring - a useful addition to study materials for budding botanists and mycologists.
Read more

Around the same time, the technology for capturing images was becoming more accessible - both financially and practically. Before the invention of photographic technology, glass lantern slides were a popular way of keeping paintings, images, and drawings in a way that meant they could be lit up by a lantern or candle and projected against a wall. When photographs came into popular use in the mid-1800s, the positive prints of a photograph could be placed on a glass slide. 

 

A new dry plate method was introduced in the 1880s, which meant that dry plates could be prepared in advance and did not require lots of chemicals, overly cumbersome equipment, and immediate development in a dark room. This meant that it was easier for people on their travels to document their memories. Educational sets of slides for public lectures became popular, with travel and the natural world two of the most popular themes. For the Ramblers, this also meant that highlights of their trips could be documented and later used in presentations - a precursor to the modern PowerPoint slide!

 

Further reading:

Frutos, Francisco. (2013). From Luminous Pictures to Transparent Photographs: The Evolution of Techniques for Making Magic Lantern Slides. The Magic Lantern Gazette (2013) 25, 3, 3-11.

2 Fmedia2 F14236592 Fri di 0077491 2
Rowan Blossom
2 Fmedia2 F14236542 Fri di 0077490 12
Sycamore in Flower
2 Fmedia2 F14236492 Fri di 0077489 2
Sycamore in Fruit
2 Fmedia2 F14236442 Fri di 0077488 2
Horse Chestnut
Horse chestnuts trees and their deep brown conkers are for many the essence of Autumn. Conkers are f
2 Fmedia2 F14236392 Fri di 0077487 2
Horse Chestnuts
Horse chestnuts trees and their deep brown conkers are for many the essence of Autumn. Conkers are f
2 Fmedia2 F14236342 Fri di 0077486 2
Horse Chestnut Flower
Conkers are for many the essence of Autumn, but how do conkers develop?   Blush-hued horse chestnu
2 Fmedia2 F14236292 Fri di 0077485 2
Lime Tree Blossom
Lime tree, or lindens, are deciduous trees native to Europe and Asia that flower in June and July. T
2 Fmedia2 F14236242 Fri di 0077484 2
Acorns
Acorns, or oak nuts, are the fruit of the oak tree. They usually contain a single seed from which a
You must enable javascript to view this website