On this blog I am presenting a selection of images by amateur New Zealand photographers from my collection. The amateur's photo album is usually full of those special events that make a family. Mum, the kids, or the 'rallies', [and sometimes dad, when you could get the camera from him], in the garden dressed in their Sunday best, birthdays, Christmas, and don't forget those holiday snaps, out-of-focus, or badly framed. The last two faults can mostly be blamed on the cameras, with their tiny viewfinders and lenses that left a lot to be desired. But one or two shots will stand out, there is something a little different or amusing about them. And sometimes the photographer had a very good eye, a very good camera, or was just lucky. These are the images I will be selecting for this blog, and my only rule for selection is that I like the image.
With many of the images I know nothing about the photographer, but where I do these details are listed, and with some images I have included memories from the photographers family members.
Most of the photographs are from family albums purchased at auction, family estates, from descendants of the photographer, and a few were rescued from the tip. So if you have an old album, I'm interested, BUT please do not dump it. These albums are great to see and should be preserved, they are a window into the past. With the advent of the digital camera, CD/DVD disc's etc, albums are becoming a thing of the past. In 50 years [I'm being generous here] you will only be able to access todays images if you can find a player thats still working.

I welcome any comments from viewers.


All images are copyright and are not to be used without permission.

Elliott.



The Elliott Family.


I know very little about the Elliott's only that they appear to have resided in New Lynn, Auckland, and that's only because the film was developed there. This is a collection of negatives taken during the 1930's of their trips all over the North Island, from the Far North to Wellington. Going by the content of the negatives  the family consisted of Mom, Dad, and 2 or 3 daughters, and it appears to be the daughters who were the photographers, but if just one or more I do not know. But one of them took at least one shot of every town that they passed through, which is the main content of this collection. There are few candid shots of the family, Mom or Dad may appear in some shots, but only in the background, which makes me think there was more than one photographer, each one taking the shots they wanted for their own album. Condition of the images varies, most are slightly out-of-focus, and there is some camera-shake, which makes about half unusable. The family appears fairly well-to-do, travelling as they do by car, and as no camping gear can be seen, staying at hotels and guesthouses along the way. The collection consists of about 200 negatives, their trips every year from 1930 to 1941, and must be only a fraction of what they took in earlier and later years. How I would like to see those!
If you are related to this family I would like to hear from you so I can update/correct my information.

Gordon's Garage, Wellsford, 1932.
Inglewood, 1937.
Masonic Hotel, Church St, Opotiki, 1936.
Egmont St, New Plymouth, 1935.

I have about 50 from this collection on Once Again Images.
I'm still working my way through these.

Posted by Barry Cash

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