State Library of South Australia

Terry Clark Collection : SUMMARY RECORD [PRG 1718/2/76] • Mixed material

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Physical description

0.2 metres
7 data DVDs : 1 cm

Dates / Publication details

Approximately 1950-1990

Photographer

Clark, Terry

Collection

Part of Terry Clark Collection

Subject

Clark, Terry, 1937-

Catalogue record

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Historical information

Terry Clark was born in London, England, on 26th November 1937. The second born child of Metropolitan Police Constable Benjamin Henry George Clark and Helena May Clark (nee Ward). In the 1930's Terry Clark's father was a heavy smoker of Black Cat cigarettes and collected their tokens with each packet. The tokens could be redeemed for cameras and over a period of time the Clark family had accumulated five cameras of various sizes and colours. Terry discovered the joys of taking photographs and the click of the shutter was an addictive sound for him. This resulted in endless clicking around the house taking pictures of his mother washing up and making the beds, and annoying his sisters whenever he could. Sadly the first few thousand photos Terry took did not come out. It was wartime London and camera film could not be bought. All the film produced was diverted to the war effort. When World War II finished film slowly became available but the cost of processing was a strain on the family budget so Terry learnt how to process his own precious films. He made contact prints using a small, wooden frame printer in the bathroom with a red safe light in place of the normal white light globe. At age 15 Terry joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice in the trade of airborne wireless and radar fitter. With a good camera club in the RAF and some spare time, Terry's photographic experience blossomed. The camera club had a really good quality 2 ¼ sq inch single lens reflex camera and full facilities for developing, printing, enlarging and processing the emerging technology of colour slide film. Terry was posted to Australia to work on guided missiles in 1959. It was many miles of travel and many photographs and 8mm movie shoots before he returned for a brief spell in 1965 to the United Kingdom. Finishing his term in the RAF he migrated back to Australia to work on Jindivik a radio controlled target aircraft. On arrival in Woomera in 1967 Terry saw the opportunity to start a photographic service for the population and the local newspaper and he established Woomera Photo Services. In more than eight years as a Woomera resident he took many thousands of photographs, which unlike his wartime efforts did come out. The range of photographic assignments was extremely varied with weddings, social functions, many sporting events, local promotional postcards, ANZAC Day and 4th July celebrations, and covering visiting entertainers and sporting personalities. Terry left Woomera after nearly nine years to live and work in Adelaide as a Prudential Insurance Company Agent. As technology progressed Terry took advantage of the growth of computer-controlled multi image slide presentations and developed a business presenting slide shows at sales conferences around the world. This led to work for CAMS at Formula 1 events and fifteen years presenting slide shows at The FIA (Federation Internationale De L'Automobile) World Rally Championship in Perth. He was also fortunate to meet many international celebrities of which the highlight was having morning tea with and photographing Nelson Mandela when he was the President of South Africa. Terry has never been a full time professional photographer but his work has taken him around the world with presentations in nine different countries as well as every state of Australia. Now retired, but flying and photographing with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional in his spare time. Terry donated all the negatives of his Woomera work to the Woomera Museum and many of his prints and 8mm movies to The State Library of South Australia.

Digitisation information

Date

20/07/2017

Format

image/tiff

Resolution

6,787 x 7,497 pixels (50.9 MP)

Size

152.67 MB

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