A Life in Photography
Self-portrait, Nairobi, 1966
In the darkroom at Massimo Bellini's in Nairobi, 1967
Early period in Nairobi
Growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, Vallabh Kargathra loved drawing from an early age. His father gave him a camera when he was 10 years old, that was the start of his interest in photography. He was taking photos with great enthusiasm but the processed prints he was getting from photo-labs were disappointing. Later it made him realise that to produce a good photograph, he needs to understand the complete process — from capturing the image to finishing the print. Having read some basic books on photo developing, he was encouraged and got help from his father to start his own film developing and printing at home.
Completing his school studies, Vallabh took formal training in photography under German photographer, Tom Kraft. Here he learnt about colour photo processing. He passed his exams and found his first job as an assistant to an Italian portrait photographer Massimo Bellini, owner of a prestigious studio in Nairobi. From Bellini, he gained experience in professional black & white portrait photography - from photographing in the studio with Linhof 4x5 plate camera to developing and printing in the darkroom and retouching negatives. Completing a day's work at Bellini's studio, he attended evening classes in art to further his interest in drawing and painting.
Reading regularly about photography and photographers, Vallabh came across an article, in the American magazine Modern Photography at the time, listing best ten professional photo-labs around the world. To his surprise a local lab, Nairobi Photofinishers was among them.
After serving Bellini for a year and a half he joined Nairobi Photofinishers as the darkroom printer. Musa Qureshi who ran the lab was a perfectionist — every print had to meet his approval. Here Vallabh got opportunity to print for some well known international photographers, including Mirella Ricciardi, Des Bartlett, Peter Beard, and Norman Myers, who were working on their projects in Kenya at the time. From processing individual prints to printing large scale black and white images for four wildlife photography exhibitions, his work at Nairobi Photofinishers was often immensely demanding but hugely enjoyable.
After working with Nairobi Photofinishers for two years, a time came for him to say goodbye to Kenya and settle in Britain.
In the darkroom at Europa Photographic, 1976
Working in London
In London, after initial struggle, Vallabh finally secured a job as a photographer and printer at Europa Photographic, a prestigious London West End studio run by Ron Marston. During his seven years service at Europa Photographic, he produced works for clients such as Dunlop, Courtaulds, Beechams and the BBC. On four occasions, he had the honour of being appointed an official Royal photographer, including one event at Buckingham Palace and a Royal banquet in the magnificent Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
During one busy day in the print lab at Europa, Vallabh was astounded when he was handed five old glass negatives to print 16x20 in. images. These negatives were none other than those of the legendary German photographer Felix Mann, taken using his Ernamox camera in the 1930s. Mann was one of the pioneers of photojournalism. Whilst the negatives were delicate and not easy to print, Vallabh's experience allowed him to produce very good quality images. A month later, Felix Mann returned to Europa Photographic with some 70 glass negatives to produce prints for a forthcoming exhibition of his photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London. At this time, Mann revealed that he had sent the same original five glass negatives to four other major labs in London for test-prints to compare the quality of the prints, and found Vallabh's print work to be of a high standard.
After leaving Europa Photographic, Vallabh at the age of 30, became a self-employed photographer and printer.
Architecture photography with Arca Swiss Monolith 4x5 plate camera in London, 1994
Photography and Graphic Designs created for music album covers
Running a business
As a self-employed photographer and printer, Vallabh produced a wide variety of work for many different clients such as hotels, product manufacturers, architects and building contracters. For sixteen years, until her retirement in 1995, he was the exclusive printer to a well known society portrait photographer whose work was regularly published in Country Life and Tatler magazines.
Since 1989, his love of art extended to computer graphic design, producing works for catalogues, brochures and packaging. In 1992, his business started trading as 'PhotoGraphics'. Digital photography and graphic design became major parts of his business. In addition, commissions for music record label, Audiorec, gave him significant experience and exposure in the media industry. He has photographed many well known musicians and also designed a lot of music record covers and promotional materials.
As well as utilising both the artistry and technology of digital imaging for his corporate clients, Vallabh still greatly enjoys creating personal photographic portraits. For the past few years, he has developed a passion for wedding photography.