Ron Clark's colour slides

Sir George Grey Special Collections recently acquired a wonderful collection of colour slides taken by Ron Clark mostly in the nineteen-fifties, sixties and seventies. They are accessible via the Heritage Images database.

Ref: Ron Clark, Oakura Bay, 1950s,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-1227

Ref: Ron Clark, Muriel Clark at the wheel of a Humber Hawk, about 1956,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-12

Photographs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are a strong part of the Sir George Grey Special Collections image collection.

The Ron Clark slides span the mid-twentieth century, filling a time period gap in Auckland Libraries' photograph collections. Life in New Zealand is captured in wide-ranging ways. There are scenes showing urban and rural activities, family gatherings and outings, interior shots of homes, churches and hospital wards, beach visits, overseas holidays, public events and building construction sites.

Ref: Ron Clark, Auckland's last tram, December 1956,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-881

Ref: Ron Clark, Flooded fields at Twinings, October 1971,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-740

Ref: Ron Clark, House at Alton Avenue, Hillcrest, 1960s,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-356

Ref: Ron Clark, Pamela and Carolyn Clark on Christmas morning, 25 December 1957,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-78

Ref: Ron Clark, Marsden Road, Paihia, 1950s or 1960s,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-1393

The colours, depth of field and curved edges of the slides will be familiar to twenty-first century Instagram users. Unlike the simple action of choosing a filter on a smartphone app, a photographer using a camera with slides has a tricky job -- there is almost no latitude for exposure fault. Bracketing was a technique used by colour slide photographers to ensure well-exposed images were taken. The process of bracketing involved taking a number of images of the same scene, one under-exposed, one over-exposed and hopefully, one well-exposed. The large number of well-exposed slides in the Ron Clark collection highlights his impressive technical skills.

Ref: Ron Clark, Pamela Clark bottle feeding a lamb, December 1971,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-726

Ref: Ron Clark, Fishing at Whangaruru beach, February 1971,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-1232

Ref: Ron Clark, Kawakawa, 1950s,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-1655

Ref: Ron Clark, Grass tobogganing at Hunua Presbyterian camp, 1960s,
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-558

The Ron Clark slides were a generous donation and are a wonderful addition to Auckland Libraries' photograph collections.

Author: Zoë Colling, Sir George Grey Special Collections