Ron Taylor

Aliases: Ronald Josiah Taylor
Role: underwater filmmaker, diver, spearfishing champion, marine conservationist, housing builder
First appearance: 2003 (^[1])
Born: 1934, Sydney, Australia
Died: September 9, 2012
Affiliation: Independent filmmaker; collaborated extensively with wife Valerie Taylor

Biography

Ronald Josiah Taylor (1934—2012) was an Australian icon of ocean exploration, scuba diving pioneer, underwater filmmaker, and marine conservationist. Born under the sign of Pisces, Ron first entered the ocean at Botany Bay, Sydney in 1951, when he found a lost mask at the Brighton Le Sands meshed baths. “The underwater world became clear and I was hooked,” he later recalled (^[2]).

Ron began as a breath-hold skin diver and became proficient as an underwater speargun hunter from 1953. At the time, he worked as a photo engraver on Castlereagh Street, Sydney. In 1955, he built his first underwater breathing apparatus from World War II surplus parts — an oxygen demand regulator from high-flying aircraft, flexible gas mask twin hoses, and a fire extinguisher bottle for the air supply, with compressed air obtained from a local engineering firm. The device worked but was severely limited in duration. He later transitioned to manufactured scuba equipment as it became available in Australia (^[3]).

In 1956, Ron joined the St. George Sea Dragons Spearfishing Club in Sydney and ultimately won four consecutive Australian National spearfishing championships between 1962 and 1965. In 1965, he represented Australia at the World Spearfishing Competition in Tahiti, French Polynesia, taking the top honor as World Spearfishing Champion. Over time, he became “completely and irrevocably disenchanted with competitive spearfishing” and gave up the sport entirely, though he remained a skilled spearfisherman for the rest of his life, taking only enough fish to feed himself and his wife (^[4]).

Also in 1956, Ron discovered the satisfactions of filming marine life. He was lent a 16mm Bell and Howell movie camera and built his own underwater housing for it from Perspex — “a harbinger of the dozens of Taylor-made, custom-built underwater housings he would construct for all of his cameras over the next fifty years.” The original camera held only 50 feet of film (80 seconds total) and its spring-winding mechanism limited each shot to 25 seconds, teaching Ron to be highly selective in his choice of subject and camera technique. He also became aware that non-divers were keenly interested in sharks and began to specialize in shark cinematography (^[5]).

In 1960, Ron purchased his own Bolex camera, built another housing, and began making films for theatrical release. That year, at the Heron Island Dive Festival, he met a skin diver named Valerie Heighes, who had won the Miss Heron Island competition. He convinced her to model underwater for his camera, beginning a collaboration of filmmaker and on-camera personality that would endure for over fifty years. They married in December 1963 (^[6]).

Ron passed away early on Sunday morning, September 9, 2012, at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife and collaborator of over fifty years, Valerie (^[7]; ^[8]).

Filmography and Major Works

Early films (1962—1968)

Ron’s first film, Playing With Sharks, was released in cinemas by Movietone News in 1962. It was followed by Shark Hunters, shot in black and white and sold to Australian and American television, cementing his reputation as a top-notch underwater filmmaker. His film Skindiving Paradise was commissioned and released by the Queensland Government Tourist Board (^[9]).

In 1965, while filming underwater sequences for Revenge of a Shark Victim (a 16mm documentary for TCN9 television), Ron became “the first man in the world to film a great white shark underwater and the first man to photograph a great white shark underwater without the use of an anti-shark cage.” The resulting still frame — a triangle of pointed snout, vast open jaws, and jet-black eyes — became an iconic image seen worldwide, captured a full decade before Jaws (^[10]).

Surf Scene, a diving and surfing documentary, also came out in 1965. The newlywed Taylors barnstormed around coastal Queensland and New South Wales, “four walling” towns with posters, collecting admission fees to pay for gasoline, food, and film stock (^[11]).

Blue Water, White Death (1969)

In 1969, American department-store heir and filmmaker Peter Gimbel hired the Taylors for Blue Water, White Death, a landmark cinema verite documentary subtitled “The Hunt for the Great White Shark.” Valerie served as safety diver and on-camera talent; Ron as cameraman. Over a six-month odyssey aboard a chartered whale catcher, the team — including cinematographer Stan Waterman — traveled from Durban, South Africa through Mozambique, the Comoros, and Sri Lanka. Off South Africa, they encountered vast schools of oceanic whitetip sharks feeding on sperm whale carcasses and filmed the aggregation at night, memorably leaving the safety of anti-shark cages. The footage remains “the most dramatic underwater shark footage ever seen” (^[12]).

At Ron’s suggestion, the production ultimately moved to South Australia, where they finally found the great white shark. The film broke all box office records for a documentary and was the second-grossing film of its year, after only Love Story. The original print was rediscovered after Gimbel’s death, digitally remastered, and re-released in theaters and on DVD in 2007 (^[13]; ^[14]).

In 2007 at the Beneath the Sea dive show in New Jersey, the surviving Blue Water, White Death collaborators reunited: James Lipscomb (director of photography), Rodney Fox, Stan Waterman, Ron and Valerie Taylor, and Tom Chapin. Ron and Valerie were recognized for lifetime achievements at the event, and on Sunday the film was screened with live commentary from Stan, Ron, and Valerie. A production crew taped new commentary for the remastered version (^[15]).

Jaws and Hollywood (1974—2000s)

In 1974, the Taylors’ reputation from Blue Water, White Death led to their being hired to shoot the live-action great white shark sequences for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Further Hollywood credits followed: Orca, Gallipoli, The Last Wave, and all underwater photographic work for The Blue Lagoon (starring Brooke Shields). Through the 1980s and 1990s, Ron worked on additional Hollywood features including The Year of Living Dangerously, Honeymoon in Las Vegas, Return to the Blue Lagoon, and The Island of Dr. Moreau (^[16]).

Television work

Following Blue Water, White Death, the Taylors filmed the 39-episode television series Barrier Reef (1970—1971) and their own 13-episode documentary series Taylor’s Inner Space, filmed around Australia. Ron also produced numerous works for National Geographic, the Wild, Wild World of Animals TV series, and specials including Sharks, Silent Hunters of the Deep and Operation Shark Bite (^[17]).

Conservation films

In the 1980s, Ron’s productions The Wreck of the Yongala and The Great Barrier Reef educated viewers about Australia’s underwater heritage — the Yongala shipwreck and the Cod Hole on the Great Barrier Reef, home to giant potato cod. These films, combined with intense personal lobbying by Ron and Valerie at great personal cost (including threats and denouncement from fishermen and politicians), led public opinion toward marine conservation and forced reluctant Queensland politicians to protect Australia’s marine heritage. His later conservation-focused films included In the Realm of the Shark, Shadow Over the Reef, and Shark Pod (^[18]).

Ron and Valerie themselves became subjects of documentaries about their lives: The Sea Lovers and In the Shadow of the Shark (^[19]).

Contributions to Underwater Imaging

Ron built custom underwater housings throughout his entire career, starting with his first Perspex housing for a 16mm Bell and Howell camera. Forum member Mark Goyen recalled seeing him at Cairns airport “picking up his handmade boxes with his handmade underwater housings” and described him as having “fantastic talent” (^[20], comments). His innovations included the development of a revolutionary stainless steel, chain-mail-inspired anti-shark suit, which was featured as the May 1981 cover story of National Geographic magazine (^[21]).

Ron pioneered cage diving with great white sharks in South Australia, alongside Rodney Fox. In 2016, underwater photographer Don Silcock wrote that the practice was “pioneered by Aussie diving legends and film-makers Ron and Valerie Taylor, along with famous Great White Shark attack survivor Rodney Fox” (^[22]).

Marine Conservation

Ron’s footage and presentation of marine life in Australian waters was “instrumental in allowing the Australian public to see and appreciate and ultimately to protect their rare and precious marine legacy.” His work demonstrated why animals such as the grey nurse shark and the Australian sea lion needed legal and moral protection against extinction (^[23]).

In 2010, Ron and Valerie were interviewed by CNN as part of Talk Asia coverage, advocating against the shark fin trade. “World wide sharks are in serious danger, mainly for shark finning,” Ron told CNN. “The Asian market just can’t get enough of sharks fin; the price has gone way up. Even Australian fishermen are taking shark fins now in the Great Barrier Reef” (^[24]).

In 2012, the government of South Australia honored the Taylors by designating the Neptune Islands as the “Ron and Valerie Taylor Marine Park,” a marine sanctuary where commercial activities are strictly regulated and the protected great white shark can flourish (^[25]).

Honors and Awards

• Order of Australia (2003): “For service to conservation and the environment through marine cinematography and photography, by raising awareness of endangered and potentially extinct marine species, and by contributing to the declaration of species and habitat protection” (^[26])
• International Divers Hall of Fame (2000, with Valerie), ceremony held in Grand Cayman (^[27])
• Australian Geographic Society Lifetime of Conservation Award (with Valerie) (^[28])
• Australian Cinematographers Society Hall of Fame (with Valerie) (^[29])
• Beneath the Sea lifetime achievement recognition (2007, with Valerie) (^[30])
• Ron and Valerie Taylor Marine Park (2012) — Neptune Islands, South Australia, named in their honor (^[31])

Valerie Taylor separately received appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 for her service to conservation and the environment (^[32]).

Influence and Legacy

Ron Taylor’s influence on the underwater imaging community was profound and repeatedly acknowledged on Wetpixel:

• Marty Snyderman, when asked who inspired him photographically, named “Ron Taylor. Ron Taylor way back when” alongside Jack McKinney and Kathy Church (^[33]).
• Joe Romeiro of 333 Productions cited “Peter Gimble and Valerie and Ron Taylor” as the filmmakers who “really moved me and made me want to get in the water and do something” (^[34]).
• Jay Garbose, an underwater videographer, described being “inspired by Ron and Valerie Taylor’s shark documentaries and exploits” in turning from law to full-time underwater production (^[35]).
• Douglas David Seifert, world editor of DIVE magazine, wrote the primary Wetpixel tribute and described Ron as having “inspired every major underwater image maker and cinematographer working today.” Seifert was a close personal friend who had dived with the Taylors in South Australia multiple times, first meeting them over 20 years before 2014. The Taylors “informally adopted” him as a nephew (^[36]; ^[37]).
• Mike Veitch recalled meeting Ron and Valerie in 2002 while working on the Tahiti Aggressor, spending several trips together in the Tuamotu Atolls diving with grey reef sharks. He described Ron as displaying “great kindness and patience” without “a hint of ego or impatience” when surrounded by admirers (^[38]).
• David Haas remembered Ron as “one of THE pioneers of solving UW photography problems” who achieved great results “many times on limited budgets” (^[39]).
• Bret Gilliam featured Ron and Valerie Taylor as subjects in his book Diving Pioneers and Innovators, placing them alongside Stan Waterman, Chuck Nicklin, and other legends spanning “nearly the entire history of scuba diving” (^[40]).

Douglas Seifert’s tribute summarized: “His legacy is an awareness and appreciation of the ocean and its inhabitants unknown in Australia and throughout the rest of the civilized world fifty years ago. His story, of the journey from an unsurpassed marine hunter to a passionate conservationist putting himself on the line has led the way to a renaissance in thinking and understanding” (^[41]).

Community Tributes

Upon his death, Eric Cheng set up a dedicated memorial page on Wetpixel (wetpixel.com/i.php/rontaylor) for tributes and memorial thoughts (^[42]). Comments on the tribute article came from across the diving community, calling him “a pioneer and inspiration,” “a lovely man,” and “irreplaceable” (^[43], comments). DIVE magazine’s October 2012 issue featured Seifert’s tribute as its lead article (^[44]).

Wetpixel Appearances

Ron and Valerie appeared across the Wetpixel archive in multiple contexts:

• 2003: Jay Garbose credited the Taylors as inspiration in a Fathom Imaging lens review (^[45])
• 2006: The Taylors spoke about their lifetime with sharks at the ADEX Asia Dive Expo “Heroes” event (^[46])
• 2007: Featured at Beneath the Sea for the Blue Water, White Death reunion (^[47])
• 2007: San Diego Shark Diving Expeditions offered a Guadalupe great white shark trip with the Taylors; Eric Cheng had accompanied them to French Polynesia in 2005 (^[48])
• 2007: Richard Vevers and Jayne Jenkins’s “Sydney Underworld” exhibition opened by Ron and Valerie Taylor (^[49])
• 2008: Eric Cheng referenced the Taylors’ classic Blue Water, White Death footage of oceanic whitetip sharks in his Bahamas trip report (^[50])
• 2008: X-Ray Magazine Issue 27 featured an interview with the Taylors described as “diving legends and eco-warriors” (^[51])
• 2010: Valerie honored with Member of the Order of Australia (^[52])
• 2010: CNN Talk Asia interview on shark finning (^[53])
• 2014: Douglas Seifert described diving with the Taylors in South Australia in 2008, visiting Edithburgh, Wool Bay, and Port Hughes jetties (^[54])

Timeline

• 1934: Born in Sydney, Australia (^[55])
• 1951: First submerged into the ocean at Botany Bay, Sydney (^[56])
• 1953: Began spearfishing with a speargun (^[57])
• 1955: Built first underwater breathing apparatus from WWII surplus parts (^[58])
• 1956: Joined St. George Sea Dragons Spearfishing Club; began underwater filmmaking with a borrowed 16mm Bell and Howell camera in a custom Perspex housing (^[59])
• 1960: Purchased Bolex camera and built housing; met Valerie Heighes at Heron Island Dive Festival (^[60])
• 1962: First film, Playing With Sharks, released in cinemas by Movietone News; won first Australian National Spearfishing Championship (^[61])
• 1963-12: Married Valerie Heighes (^[62])
• 1964-01: Won third Australian National Spearfishing Championship at Kangaroo Island; released Skindiving Paradise for Queensland Government Tourist Board (^[63])
• 1965: Won World Spearfishing Championship in Tahiti; became first person to film and photograph a great white shark underwater without a cage; released Surf Scene; gave up competitive spearfishing (^[64])
• 1969: Cameraman on Blue Water, White Death documentary with Peter Gimbel and Stan Waterman (^[65])
• 1970—1971: Filmed 39-episode TV series Barrier Reef (^[66])
• 1972: Produced 13-episode series Taylor’s Inner Space (^[67])
• 1974: Shot live great white shark sequences for Jaws (^[68])
• 1981-05: Chain-mail anti-shark suit featured as National Geographic cover story (^[69])
• 1980s: Produced The Wreck of the Yongala and The Great Barrier Reef, leading to marine protection legislation (^[70])
• 2000: Inducted into International Divers Hall of Fame with Valerie, Grand Cayman (^[71])
• 2000—2011: Filmed sperm whales off the Azores, blue whales off Indonesia, great hammerhead and tiger sharks in the Bahamas, and marine life in Indonesia (^[72])
• 2003: Awarded Order of Australia (^[73])
• 2006-04: Spoke at ADEX Asia Dive Expo “Heroes” event about lifetime with sharks (^[74])
• 2007-03: Honored at Beneath the Sea 2007 with Blue Water, White Death reunion (^[75])
• 2007-11: Opened “Sydney Underworld” photography exhibition (^[76])
• 2008: Dived South Australian jetties with Douglas Seifert (^[77])
• 2010-06: Valerie appointed Member of the Order of Australia (^[78])
• 2010-10: Interviewed with Valerie on CNN Talk Asia about shark conservation (^[79])
• 2012: Neptune Islands designated “Ron and Valerie Taylor Marine Park” by South Australian government (^[80])
• 2012-09-09: Died; tribute by Douglas David Seifert published on Wetpixel (^[81]); memorial thread started by Mike Veitch (^[82])
• 2012-10: DIVE magazine October issue featured Seifert’s tribute as lead article (^[83])

References