Images(2)

Paddling Out, Alec Kimbler

Photographer Ray Leighton (Australian, 1917 - 2002)

Date1945

Object number00032010

NamePhotograph

MediumSilver gelatin print

DimensionsMount / Matt size (B Fini): 407 × 560 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionRay Leighton was a highly successful professional photographer who had a long association with the Manly surfing community and often featured beach themes in his work. This silver gelatin print, 'Paddling out, Alec Kimbler' was taken at Manly in 1945, and later reprinted as an edition by another well known beach photographer, Roger Scott, in 1998. HistoryRay Leighton worked for Russell Roberts in 1932 and later for Home magazine. In 1946 he moved to studios in Grosvenor Street, Sydney. Like his contemporaries Max Dupain and Laurence Le Guay, Ray Leighton was an important figure in Sydney commercial photography, and for the next three decades specialised in advertising and industrial work. Photographing beach scenes stemmed from Ray Leighton's keen interest in surfing, and during the 1940s a number of Ray's Manly photographs were published in newspapers and magazines. He had joined Manly Surf Club in 1932 in order to store his plywood long board, which was too heavy to transport. This was common practice among surfers in the 1930s. Ray made his own boards with distinctive patterns and insignia, earning him the name 'Badges'. He was Manly Surf Life Saving Club's top boardsman in the 1939-1940 season.SignificanceWhile capturing the exhilaration of the surf and the popular beach lifestyle of 1930s and 1940s Manly, Ray Leighton's photographs document an important part of Australia's society and culture.