McCabe started working for
The Observer in 1976, following a brief spell in the music industry. McCabe's work encompasses a variety of subjects and topics, but he has largely concentrated on portraits of those in the arts. These include actors, writers, poets, artists, and musicians. He was honoured as news photographer of the year for the photos he took of the disaster. McCabe also photographed matches between
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe,
Brendan Foster winning the 10,000-metre race at the 1978
AAA Championships in the rain,
Li Zhenshi and his extremely high serve, and
The Boat Race 1978 that saw the sinking of Cambridge's boat. One series of photographs for the
Guardian Review was a study of writers desks, his work included the desks of
Beryl Bainbridge,
Seamus Heaney and
Hilary Mantel. McCabe was visiting senior fellow in photography at the
University of Suffolk, held an honorary doctorate of the
University of East Anglia and
Staffordshire University, and was an honorary professor at
Thames Valley University. ==Personal life==