It Takes Two
Photographer
Ray Leighton
(Australian, 1917 - 2002)
Date1945
Object number00032011
NamePhotograph
MediumSilver gelatin print
DimensionsOverall: 15.9 × 24.1 mm
Mount / Matt size (B Fini): 407 × 560 mm
Mount / Matt size (B Fini): 407 × 560 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
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, 'It Takes Two', was taken at Manly in 1945, and later reprinted as an edition by another well known beach photographer, Rodger Scott, in 1998. The image features a man standing and a women lying on a longboard, with a East Manly and Shelly Beach in the background.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 a number of Ray's Manly photographs were published in newspapers and magazines during the 1940s. He 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.
