My brother Joe Taylor, who has died aged 58 of cancer, worked as a film and television documentary cameraman for more than 30 years, including for the BBC’s Panorama and The South Bank Show on Sky Arts.
Joe left Thurston upper school in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, at 16 with the sole ambition to be a cameraman. Aged 18, he went to London, doggedly pursuing his path, writing countless letters and knocking on unreceptive doors. Finally, in 1986, he was taken up by Crystal Film and Video in Harlesden, north-west London, where he quickly progressed from camera assistant to staff cameraman.
In the late 1990s, Joe went freelance and ventured on a career that took him to every corner of the globe, feeding his lively mind and passion for history. He became one of the most sought-after documentary and current affairs cameramen of his generation, collaborating frequently with the presenter and writer Paul Kenyon and the producer and director Howard Bradburn, making beautifully shot, powerful and moving documentaries. He worked for Panorama from 2003 to 2020.
In 2009, Joe filmed epic sequences of the lethal migration route from Africa to Europe. The film, Migrants, Go Home!, won a Royal Television Society award. Colleagues remember that no matter how difficult and risky the situation, Joe was always a delight to work with, delivering wonderful footage with grace and humour.
Also for Panorama, Joe filmed memorable, poignant shots for Tsunami: The Survivors’ Stories, about the aftermath of the tsunami in Fukushima, in 2011. Cool in the face of danger, Joe was also kind – Kenyon said he was the only cameraman he knew who would take gifts to disaster zones.
Always in demand, he also worked on BBC One’s Who Do You Think You Are? (2008-18), Channel 4’s Dispatches (2010-20) and The South Bank Show (2016-18), and was director of photography on The Amazing Grace, directed by Jeta Amata, for which he received the best cinematography award in the African Movie Academy Awards 2007.
The youngest of four, Joe was born in Bury St Edmunds, to Muriel (nee Griffin), an auxiliary nurse, and Tom Taylor, an artist. Joe and his future wife, Lucy Walker, grew up as children together, married in 1995, and their son, Milo, was born in 1997.
Joe lamented the loss of his future with Lucy and Milo. But, in spite of it all, he celebrated his amazing life and the people he loved. Brave, funny and empathic, he was great company and a fine professional.
Joe is survived by Lucy and Milo, and by his sister, Rebecca, and me. Another brother, Ben, died in 2001.
