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Black and white close up shot of a person's hands holding up a human skull showing the backside

Photographer Valerie Taylor (born 1935)

Date1953-2000

Object numberANMS1456[188]

NamePhotographic slide

MediumColour transparency film

DimensionsOverall (inc carrier) 50 x 50 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Valerie Taylor in memory of Ron Taylor

Terms

DescriptionThis photographic collection represents the career of filmmakers and ocean conservationists Valerie Taylor AM (born 1935) and her late husband Ron Taylor AM (1934-2012). The couple pioneered skin-diving, scuba diving and underwater photography and cinematography in Australia. Valerie was national spear fishing champion for three years in the 1960s, Ron for four years, however the couple soon stopped fishing and shifted focus to shark research, photography and film. They made chain mail diving suits to film sharks and became strong advocates for shark preservation. Ron and Valerie Taylor were committed to the documentation of a vast array of underwater wildlife. Through this archive a unique range of smaller creatures, such as ascidians, anemones, jellyfish, algae, starfish, plankton are shown. A variety of cephalopods are also depicted. In 1997 Valerie won the American Nature photographer of the Year for her photograph of a whale shark swimming with a boy in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia. This archive features an impressive series of photographs of Valerie swimming with whale sharks off the coast of Western Australia.