Renowned photographer, faculty member Medford Taylor to exhibit work at Sweet Briar

Monarch butterflies. Photo by Medford Taylor


Internationally known photographer Medford Taylor will show a sampling of his work in Sweet Briar College’s Babcock Gallery beginning Thursday, Feb. 1. “In Motion” will open with a reception and artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public and will be on view through March 25.

Taylor, whose professional career spans more than 40 years, teaches digital photography at Sweet Briar. He is particularly known for his photojournalism and nature photography and has covered events from the Civil Rights Movement to Mexico’s monarch butterfly migration. He has photographed for National Geographic Magazine, TIME, Newsweek and more. In 2002, he published the book, “Saltwater Cowboys: A Photographic Essay of Chincoteague Island.”

Taylor says that his new exhibit at Sweet Briar, “In Motion,” is like a book with three chapters. The first chapter will feature photographs from countries he’s visited over his career and which have been in the news recently, like Haiti, Africa and Iran. The second chapter will feature some of Taylor’s favorite images from throughout his career, while the final chapter will include images he’s taken around Sweet Briar’s 3,250-acre campus.


Sweet Briar in the snow. Photo by Medford Taylor


The latter will likely turn into a book. “I go out shooting pretty much every morning with my cat Cool Hand Luke,” he says. “We go to the lake, visit the meadows and walk the trails. Lately I’ve been shooting starlings at sunset.”

More than just the photographic inspiration of the College’s beautiful campus, Taylor enjoys teaching at Sweet Briar because it is small enough to know most of the students and faculty. “But it’s large enough as a campus that it provides me a lot of opportunity to keep photographing,” he says. “That’s my thing. I’ve been doing it for 50 years and I have no intention of slowing up now.”

Learn more about Taylor on his website and here.

Babcock Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please note that the gallery is closed when the College is not in session; it is recommended that visitors call ahead to confirm hours. For more information, contact Nancy McDearmon at 434-381-6547 or nmcdearmon@sbc.edu.