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2500 photographs (color/ black and white slides and prints)
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Unarranged.
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Biographical/Historical:
Firefighter and photographer Dale McDonald was born in Key West, Florida on October 2, 1949, to Helen and Howard McDonald. He began taking photographs in the 1960s. After graduating from Key West High School in 1968, McDonald enlisted in the United States Air Force. During his service, he was assigned to Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California, as a Still Photographic Specialist. He left the Air Force in 1972 and returned to Key West, where he began a career as a firefighter with the Naval Air Station. McDonald advanced through the ranks until he became Assistant Fire Chief in 1987.
With the help of his wife Ann, McDonald opened his photographic studio, "Keys Photographic Services," in 1993. The McDonalds performed aerial, underwater, wedding, and other types of photography assignments. From 1986 to 2000, they took photographs of the Key West Fishing Tournament, capturing images of prized fish and tournament contestants. In 2001, Ann succumbed to breast cancer and diabetes. Following her death, McDonald closed his photography business and retired from the fire service. He died of melanoma on April 22, 2007.
Summary:
This collection contains slides and photographs of various scenes in Key West, Florida, taken by Dale McDonald. He took most of the images in this collection between 1980 and 2000. In addition, several are earlier photographic images of Key West that McDonald collected. The slides and photographs document art exhibits, businesses, boating events, attractions, community events, landscapes, residences, and street scenes. This collection also documents economic development and environmental changes in Key West during the 20th century.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Images in this collection have been digitized and are available on the Florida Memory web site: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/photographs/
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Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
For more images of Key West, see Collection N2006-4, Cory McDonald's Key West Photographic Collection, ca. 1945-2005 (500 photographs).
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Publication Note:
Many of McDonald's photographs are also published in periodicals, newspapers, and books, including "Humm's Guide to the Florida Keys" and "The New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving."
for detailed listing.