Bob Anderson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, where he attended the Glasgow School of Art before graduating from the Derby College of Art's School of Design and Creative Photography in 1970. He immigrated to Canada in 1974.

For 35 years he worked as a commercial location photographer across North America and Europe, sustaining himself through that work while keeping personal projects running alongside it. His photographs are held in private and public collections. Today he continues his personal work, still finding new territory worth exploring.