David Malin joined the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) as its Photographic Scientist shortly after scheduled observations on the 3.9m Anglo-Australian telescope (AAT) began in June 1975. He is adjunct Professor of Scientific Photography at TMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.)

He was born in England and trained as a chemist, working for many years with a large international chemical company in the north of England. There, he used optical and electron microscopes and X-ray diffraction techniques to explore the very small before turning his attention to somewhat larger and more distant things in Australia.

He worked for 26 years at the Anglo-Australian Observatory as photographic scientist and astronomer. There he developed hypersensitising processes which can give enormous gains in speed to the photographic materials that were used in astronomy. He also invented new ways of revealing information on astronomical plates, a speciality which has given him an international reputation.

David Malin has published over 120 scientific papers and a similar number of popular articles on astronomy and photography, as well as seven books. A recent book, The Invisible Universe, is a large format celebration of the beauty of the night sky, a subject increasing explored in his gallery exhibitions.