Meet the Safelight Team

Safelight Labs was founded in 2017 built from a passion for all things film photography.

Rob Cowan - Owner

Rob started shooting film back in the 90’s when that was the only choice. The first camera he ever purchased was a Canon Rebel 2000, which he still has to this day and shoots with on a regular basis, this time with a 50mm f/1.8 lens (aka, the Nifty Fifty). In the mid 2000’s, when digital SLR’s really were taking off, Rob purchased his first Canon DSLR and shot with that for many years, doing portrait work, family photos, and everything in between.

It wasn’t until 2017 when he was gifted his grandfather’s Nikkormat EL (Nikon) that it propelled him back in to shooting film. The first roll of film through it was nothing but street photography and he was immediately hooked again. Moving on from there, Rob has amassed more than 30+ cameras in his personal collection ranging from small, stealth like point and shoots (Minox 35GL) to standard SLR’s, to medium format cameras made by Mamiya and Yashica.

Rob currently lives in San Diego with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and his camera collection.

Email Rob at rob@safelightlabs.com or find him most days at our partner business, Camera Exposure.