Robert Mabon Photography

Having started in photography at the age of 16 at a wedding portrait studio in Edinburgh, Scotland. To be honest, the only reason I got the job was because I was tall enough to clean the shop's windows without a ladder!

I attended Napier College in Edinburgh to study photography for my City and Guilds Qualification. This is where I met my instructor Peter Tuffy who was, and who remains to this day, my mentor.

After I set up my own studio in Edinburgh when I was 22, to make a living, I had to learn to do commercial photography but the freedom of having my own studio allowed me to indulge my real passion: black and white photography, in particular portraiture. Many of the people I photographed back then were the 'influencers' of that time in Scotland.

My regular camera back then was a Hasselblad CN500 with 50mm, 80mm and 150mm lenses. For studio work I used a 5"x4" and 10"x8" Sinar camera with photographic plates. I did all my own negative processing, enlargement and printing. Print sizes were typically up to 20"x16" maximum, using Ilford pre-multigrade papers. For exhibition standard prints I used Agfa Art Paper.

As an aside, although I love to work in black and white, I set up the very first colour film processing laboratory in Edinburgh.

Being the first photographer in Scotland to get a grant from the Scottish Arts Council, I was the subject of a British Broadcasting Company (BBC) documentary on portrait photography in the 1970's.

For many years after I moved to the U.A.E. in 1997 I put my photographic work on hold. In the last few years I have re-engaged with my passion and moved from the analogue world of chemicals and papers to the modern digital world of mega-pixels and computers for image processing. Despite the change in technology, all the fundamentals that I learned still apply.

I am seeking commercial photography opportunities and at the same time wish to expand on my classic portraiture oeuvre. If you are interested to have your portrait taken, or if you have commercial photography needs, please get in contact. My email address is: bob@robertmabonphotography.com