Bob Taylor helped establish Churchill, Man. as tourist destination for viewing and photographing polar bears.Robert Bateman
From the time he started the Toronto Bird Museum with neighbourhood chums at the age of 12 to his final trip to Africa in January, Robert Taylor's life was dedicated to helping people share his passion for the natural world.
He did this as a photographer, writer, publisher, tour guide, wood carver, painter and friend. In Winnipeg, where he lived for the past 40 years, he was known as an avid promoter of tourism, the man who helped put Churchill, Man., on the map as a place to view and photograph polar bears.
Owls were another of his passions, as were the songbirds of Ontario's Point Pelee National Park, which he photographed during their spring migration for 51 consecutive years.
"He was a pioneer in nature photography," said artist Robert Bateman, Canada's much-loved naturalist and a lifelong friend of Mr. Taylor's. "Some people would be daunted by having to struggle all the time to do the creative work and then to sell it. But he never was. He was an undaunted person."
Mr. Taylor died of cancer on Aug. 15 in Winnipeg at the age of 73. Until a few years ago, he worked with Frontiers North Adventures, leading trips to Nunavut to photograph polar bears in Wager Bay, muskox in Cambridge Bay and walrus and bowhead whales in Igloolik.
"He loved sharing his knowledge," said tour company owner Lynda Gunter. "He could tell you the name of any bird, by listening to it or seeing it."
Mr. Taylor was known for having a great respect for the animals he was photographing. Though he carried live mice when stalking owls, he was careful not to interfere with bird habitats or disturb any of his subjects more than necessary.
"I remember one time photographing a red-throated loon in Cambridge Bay, and the care he took setting up the blind so as not to disturb the bird on its nest," Ms. Gunter said. "People really appreciated the care he took."
His love of photography and nature took him to the Galapagos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Alaska, among other destinations.
It also won him many accolades, including a fellowship in the Professional Photographers Association of Manitoba and a master's of photographic arts from the Professional Photographers of Canada. He was one of only a few photographers to be accepted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In August, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger presented him with the Order of the Buffalo Hunt for his achievements and contribution to the province.
"He meant a lot to me," Mr. Bateman said. "Whenever I think of him it is with a smile on his face and a smile on my face."
Robert R. Taylor was born on June 16, 1940, in Toronto to Ross Taylor, who worked at the local Chiclets gum factory, and his wife, Alice. His brother John remembers him as a kid who always loved to romp around outside with his friends and explore nature. "He just loved being out of doors," his brother said. "You could kind of see where he was headed."
Young Robert spent a summer at the Royal Ontario Museum, where he was encouraged by birders and artists. As a junior field naturalist at the ROM, he met Mr. Bateman, who was an instructor there.
"He was just a little kid and I was in my late teens," Mr. Bateman recalled. "Being a naturalist then, you were kind of an oddball, so it was a great place where we could come together and meet kindred spirits. He was always special because of two things – his cheerfulness and enthusiasm."
Another summer job, working on a film with the National Film Board at the Thelon Game Sanctuary in the Northwest Territories, sparked the budding naturalist's love of photography.
Mr. Taylor majored in science photography at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, graduating in 1963. Soon after, he moved west and took a job at the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History, eventually moving to the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, where he ran the photography department for six years. His last job before starting out on his own as a photographer was with Manitoba Natural Resources as a wildlife specialist.
"He was kind of a free spirit," said Ted Muir, a friend and fellow carver who met Mr. Taylor at that time. "He ended up doing what he loved doing. He just stuck with it. He was patient and committed to the cause."
Mr. Muir said Mr. Taylor was generous with his photographs, donating them to causes that would help foster an appreciation for nature. His work appeared in many magazines including Life, American Birds and Canadian Geographic. Mr. Taylor also did some work for the Smithsonian Institution, and his photography was featured in about a dozen books.
Eventually, however, his independent nature caused him to chafe at publishers' demands for editorial control. So he mortgaged his house on Winnipeg's Windermere Avenue and started Windermere House Publishing. Though there were some lean financial times, the following books sold well: The Edge of the Arctic: Churchill and the Hudson Bay Lowlands; The Great Gray Owl: On Silent Wings and The Manitoba Landscape: A Visual Symphony.
"That was the kind of guy he was – very determined," said artist Jennifer LaBella, his partner of the past 12 years. "He lived life on his own terms."
Mr. Taylor also sold his bird carvings, ran workshops, was a guest lecturer and contributed to nature films. He led tours in Northern Canada and Tanzania and Kenya. He went to Africa each year for 29 years, helping clients get the best possible pictures of leopards, lions, giraffes and other big game, as well as exotic birds.
"He was a very good tour leader," Ms. LaBella said. "He thought of every detail, and he was always a man to keep people happy and in a good space by making them laugh and putting them at their ease. That was one of his talents."
Mr. Taylor never married. "He was too independent – I don't think he could live with someone else," Ms. LaBella said with a laugh. But he made lifelong friends and was never one to let a friend drift way.
When he knew his cancer could not be cured, he had three goals, according to Ms. LaBella: to go back to Africa, which he did in January; to visit Point Pelee one last time; and to accompany her to the Sioux Narrows Arts Festival in Ontario. He had published her children's book from a trip to Africa called Good Night, Little Zebra and he wanted to help her promote it.
"I kind of figured that after those goals were met that he would give in to the cancer," Ms. LaBella said. "And nine days later he was gone."
Mr. Bateman said his friend will be remembered not only for his work, but also for being the kind of person he was. "His legacy lives on in the people he's been personally in touch with," Mr. Bateman said. "They will never forget being in Churchill with Bob Taylor."
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