Michael T Tracy

A Fife Photographer Michael T Tracy

Thomas Buist will most likely be remembered for his early photography of Fife during the nineteenth-century and saw the market opportunity to turn his passion from a hobby into a commercial success. He advertised himself as an ambrotypist and quickly learned to photograph subjects, buildings and landscapes with grace and ease. However, the road to his success was not easy and he worked many jobs before he realized that his real interest and passion was in photography. Steadily he would grow his business and established his photography branches in Fifeshire. Buist would later be elected as Chief Magistrate of Earlsferry in Elie Parish but did not serve long in the position due to his health. He is considered to be one of the early pioneers of photography for his time. This then is the narrative of the life and times of Thomas Buist, a Fife photographer.