Oliver G Pike

Photographs

Oliver Pike took photographs of just about anything in the natural world, and he travelled all over Britain. He started taking photographs of flowers in his garden in the 1890s and soon went on to birds, which remained his favourite subject, although he took some excellent photos of other creatures. 

He tried colour processes from the earliest times and produced natural colour lantern slides and photographic prints. However, the printing processes of the times could not faithfully reproduce colour so he stayed with monochrome images on the whole.

He exhibited his photographs at the Royal Photographic Society's annual exhibitions for many years, as well as in exhibitions at home and abroad, and at the lectures for which he was famous.


Coal Tit 1895

Coal Tit, Winchmore Hill, 1895

This photograph of a Coal Tit was one of the first birds that he took. It was taken in his garden at Winchmore Hill, probably in 1895, and certainly with his first, cheap camera.