Saskatoon’s photography community · Since 1936
Our history
The Saskatoon Photography Club began as the Saskatoon Camera Club in 1936. For 90 years, members have gathered to make photographs, learn from one another and share their work. Our 2006–2007 anniversary publication, The Viewfinder, preserves many of the people and milestones behind that story.
Seventy Years of Seeing Together
Return to the club’s 70th anniversary through the photographs, memories and archival research collected in The Viewfinder. Our feature explores the founding years, the Mendel exhibition, life members’ recollections and the arrival of digital photography.
September 23, 1936: the first meeting
According to club archivist Vern Sanders’ anniversary history, thirty men and one woman attended the first meeting in Saskatoon’s Board of Trade office. Austin M. McNair, an employee of The StarPhoenix, chaired the meeting and was elected the club’s first president. Helga Christensen became secretary and E. L. Pendlebury treasurer. The entrance fee and annual membership fee were each one dollar.
By 1938, membership had grown to 72. Early members included Dr. Leslie G. Saunders, a University of Saskatchewan biology professor, alongside people from education, business, architecture, medicine and photography. Black-and-white print making, judging and exhibitions were central activities. Members also exchanged prints with clubs in other western cities and entered photographic salons.
Finding a home for photography
After meeting at Nutana Collegiate for six years, the club rented permanent quarters with a darkroom in the Ross Block on Third Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets. In 1944, it joined the Art Association and Archaeology Society to form the Saskatoon Art Centre, which occupied space in the Standard Trust Building.
The Art Centre reorganized after financial difficulties in 1949 and moved into the King George Hotel’s basement arcade. Further moves followed in the early 1960s. The club’s long association with the Mendel Art Gallery brought meeting space and a darkroom, along with opportunities to exhibit members’ work.
The anniversary publication’s gallery introduction dates the Mendel association to the gallery’s inception in 1964. Its historical chronology places the move under 1963; that discrepancy remains in the source. In 1986, the gallery reclaimed the club’s darkroom space. This ended access to that shared facility, but it did not end members’ use of film.
Learning, colour slides and wider connections
The anniversary history records the club’s first showing of colour slides in 1941, the purchase of a projector and screen in 1948, and the formation of a Colour Slide Division in 1952. Instruction, study groups, outings and constructive critiques helped members develop their skills.
In March 1970, Saskatoon hosted the first Transparency Battle with the Kindersley and Wes-Cen camera clubs. A. Clare Hume made and donated its trophy, first awarded in 1981. The annual gathering became a way for Saskatchewan clubs to share work and learn from one another.
Freeman Patterson presented an all-day seminar in 1979. Nan Archibald organized the Summer Fun Group in 1982, giving members more opportunities to photograph outdoors together. The club’s involvement in the Prairie Region of Photographic Arts also connected members through competitions, print and slide circuits, and regional outings.
Preserving the club’s own story
The club published The Bulletin in 1953 as a short mimeographed newsletter. A single-issue magazine called The Viewfinder appeared in 1973. In January 1977, Vern Sanders began editing and producing a magazine-style booklet under the same name.
A librarian/archivist position was established in 1961. Surviving minutes, calendars, scrapbooks and memorabilia were organized in 1979–1980. In 1999, the executive authorized a slide bank to preserve copies of leading member photographs.
From film to digital
The executive voted to launch a website in 2001. A committee began studying digital photography in 2002, followed by Henry Schnell’s Review of the Digital Category in 2003.
On March 15, 2005, members approved constitutional and bylaw changes enabling digital categories in clinics and competitions. By the 2006–2007 anniversary account, digital prints entered in clinics substantially outnumbered film-produced prints. Film and digital still coexisted: the anniversary executive roster listed separate judging-and-awards chairs for each.
Celebrating 50, 60 and 70 years
The 50th anniversary in 1986–1987 included a reunion and another Freeman Patterson seminar. Profits from those celebrations helped establish a club trust fund in 1987–1988. The 60th anniversary season in 1996–1997 featured special programs, a commemorative Viewfinder, and presentations by Courtney Milne and Darwin Wiggett.
For the 70th anniversary in 2006–2007, the Mendel’s Photographic Pleasures exhibition celebrated the club’s place in Saskatoon’s cultural history. Courtney Milne’s Seeing With New Eyes workshop and the special edition of The Viewfinder were also part of the celebrations. Explore that anniversary in our feature story.
A new home and name
In 2011, the club relocated from the Mendel Art Gallery to Mayfair United Church. In 2024, it adopted the name Saskatoon Photography Club, reflecting the range of photographic tools and interests embraced by its members.
In 2026, our 90th anniversary year, regular meetings moved to McClure United Church, 4025 Taylor Street East. The club continues to bring photographers together through presentations, Photo Reviews, competitions and outings. See the current calendar and meeting-location information to plan a visit.
Be part of the next chapter
Our history has been shaped by members who share their knowledge, volunteer their time and encourage one another to keep making photographs.
Historical source: The Viewfinder—70th Anniversary Edition, Saskatoon Camera Club, 2006–2007: Vern Sanders’ club history (printed pages 4–7), the Mendel introduction by Alexandra Badzak and Terry Graf (3–4), Pat Derbowka’s Summer Fun Group account (18), and Emily Schindel and Vern Sanders’ Transparency Battle history (20). Later milestones reflect the club’s existing history and current information. Read the anniversary feature and publication credits.