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Valerie Taylor looking closely at a whale carcass on the slipway at a whaling station in Durban, South Africa
Valerie Taylor looking closely at a whale carcass on the slipway at a whaling station in Durban, South Africa

Valerie Taylor looking closely at a whale carcass on the slipway at a whaling station in Durban, South Africa

Maker (1934 - 2012)
Subject or historical figure (born 1935)
Date1969
Object numberANMS1458[220]
NamePhotographic slide
MediumColour transparency film, paper
DimensionsOverall (Inc carrier): 50 × 50 mm
Copyright© Valerie Taylor
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Valerie Taylor in memory of Ron Taylor
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.