YK Foto

• Yellowknife Photo Service (1947-1962)
• Reimann Studios (1963-1965)
• Yellowknife Photo Centre (1966-1967)
• Yellowknife Photo Centre Ltd. (1968-1983)
• Yellowknife Photo Centre (83) Ltd. (1984-1987)
• Yellowknife Photo Centre (1983) Ltd. (1988)
• Yellowknife Photo Centre Ltd. (1989-1993)
• YK Photo (satellite location/alternate identifier, 1992-1999)
• Yellowknife Foto Source (1994-2007)
• Foto Source Yellowknife (2008-2009)
• YK Foto (2009-2010)

Yellowknife Photo Service was opened in July 1947 by Henry Busse. Busse immigrated to Canada in 1927. He came north and worked at Eldorado Mining and Refining at Great Bear Lake in the mid 1940s after having been interned. At Eldorado he joined the photography club, improving the skills he gained earlier running a darkroom in Edmonton. In 1947, Busse moved to Yellowknife where he opened Yellowknife's first commercial photography business. An award-winning photographer, Busse processed film and photographs, shot portraits, and provided event photography. The business was initially housed in the TXD building, and moved to the News of the North building.

Gerhard “Gerry” Reimann arrived in Canada in 1955. Reimann always had an interest in photography, and gained experience during his previous work with the West Berlin Police. While waiting for his plane from Yellowknife to take him to Discovery Mine, he found Busse’s shop by the Wildcat Cafe and the two became friends.

Reimann and Busse became business partners in 1958. They relocated the store up the hill in the New Town on 51st St. Their partnership lasted until September 1962, when Busse died on assignment in the Nahanni region. Reimann then ran the business as sole proprietor. In December 1962, Reimann moved the store to the new W.H. Bromley building on Franklin Avenue and renamed it Reimann Studios. Under Reimann’s ownership, the studio shot portrait photography, as well as commercial and event photography. On the retail side, the business sold cameras, film, and other photographic equipment. The name changed to Yellowknife Photo Centre in 1966, and then Yellowknife Photo Centre Ltd in 1968.

By 1968, the business expanded into the building’s basement, which then housed the store’s developing lab and studio. Yellowknife was not large enough to make continued photo processing profitable, so by 1976, all photo developing was outsourced to Winnipeg.

Bob Wilson began working at Yellowknife Photo Centre Ltd. in 1974, and stayed there part-time for three years. He had moved to Yellowknife in 1970 as a teenager. Wilson obtained his degree in Photographic Arts from Ryerson in 1979, and after graduation, he became a photographer for the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT). He worked for the GNWT for four years, then worked as a freelance photographer for two years.

In 1983, Reimann wished to retire and approached Wilson about buying the store. Under Wilson’s ownership, the store initially focused mainly on retail sales of cameras, accessories, and other photographic equipment. As with previous owners, Wilson also shot portrait and commercial photography, as well as event photography.

The store opened up a photo developing lab on Range Lake Rd in 1992, which was primarily focused on photo finishing services, leaving the main store on Franklin to serve as the retail front for the business. Wilson aligned the store with the Foto Source Corporation around 1994, changing the store’s name to Yellowknife Foto Source.

The Range Lake Rd lab closed in 1999, which was at the time located in Extra Foods. Wilson expanded the store to accommodate the lab and its equipment, so that the store now contained a photo development lab, a studio, and retail space. By January 2003, the store had equipment for processing and developing digital photography, which was a first for Yellowknife and served to further expand the store’s operations. It continued to provide commercial and personal photography, photo finishing, and retail sales, but as time continued, camera sales declined and the store shifted towards studio photography and photo development. Around 2005, the store’s name became Foto Source Yellowknife.

By May 2008, the store moved to 50th Street, in the former Right Spot building. With this move, Wilson stopped selling cameras and photographic equipment, and stopped his repair service for customers. He focused on portraiture, commercial large-scale printing, and passport photography. Around the same time, the name changed again to YK Foto. It continued as a photography studio briefly until Wilson closed it around 2008-2009. Wilson was a photographer for Canarctic Graphics for about two years after that.

Created YK Foto authority record on July 17, 2020 - TC

• English

“Northern Photographer,” News of the North, April 18, 1968

“Citizen-businessman Gerry Reimann”, Yellowknifer, December 6, 1972, pg. 44

“North was a foreign world for Gerhard Reimann,” Yellowknifer, December 2, 1976, pg. 22.

Ashbury, Doug. “YK foto source unites operations,” Northern News Services, March 31, 1999, https://archive.nnsl.com/1999-03/mar31_99pix.html

Poole, Norm. “Digital era arrives in NWT,” Northern News Services, January 24, 2003, https://archive.nnsl.com/2003-01/jan24_03dig.html

Quenneville, Guy. “Longtime photo shop moving locations, shifting priorities,” Northern News Services, April 9, 2008, https://archive.nnsl.com/2008-04/apr9_08bw.html

Scotland, Miranda. “Yellowknife, a real home,” Northern News Services, July 20, 2012, https://archive.nnsl.com/2012-07/jul20_12bw.html