Inducted into ACS Hall of Fame – 2009
Ted Taylor’s early interest in photography came with a 120 Box Brownie Camera and a linen cupboard adjacent to one of the bedrooms that became a darkroom for developing his early still pictures. Ted’s life started as an engineer but when World War 11 broke out he joined an organisation called the Netherlands East Indies Government Information Service as a War Cameraman. This took him on many assignments through the Pacific area sailing on Dutch Navy submarines and many missions to northern cities of Australia like Broome and Darwin after the bombings and later to Singapore and Java. He filmed the signing of the Peace Declaration by Japanese Commanders aboard HMAS Burdekin. At the end of World War 11 Ted joined Movietone News and spent ten years filming documentaries and newsreels as their Melbourne office Chief Cameraman. The newsreel took Ted all over Australia – – stories like servicing lighthouses, Mobil Oil Rallies, the first Australian Royal Tour, emergency rescue of a doctor from Heard Island in Antarctica by HMAS Melbourne and of course the usual floods, fires and famines. With the advent of TV in 1956 Ted joined Artransa Park Studios in Sydney, teaming up with fellow cinematographers Ross Wood, Bren Brown, Gordon Lloyd and George Lowe. He then moved to work with Pearl & Dean in Bangkok in charge of their camera department. This allowed him to travel extensively around Asia filming documentaries plus TV and cinema commercials.
Ted is both a highly respected cinematographer and foundation member of the ACS.
Ted was awarded Accreditation Certificate No. 6 in 1963.
