Colour by Schubert first opened its doors at Talbot and Fullerton in May of 1982 offering custom photofinishing for both commercial and amateur photographers. Starting out with only one enlarger and a 24” processor, we soon became known not only for our commitment to quality, but also our devotion to our customers. As a testament to this devotion, we can proudly say that some of the first clientele to walk through our door are still with us today.

Not too long after those first days, it was time to expand. One enlarger just wasn’t enough to handle the workload so we expanded and hired two more staff. Eventually, the Talbot location was sold and we moved to our current and much larger location at 121 King Street on April 1, 1987.

Now in more spacious digs, Colour by Schubert added a larger capacity colour processor, a commercial grade B&W processor and bumped the enlarger count to nine. The writing was on the wall however. Things were being shaken up in the world of photography. The price of digital cameras and computers was plummeting and they were skyrocketing in quality.

With the advent of consumer priced digital cameras, computer equipment and the likes of Photoshop, Colour by Schubert had to adapt and adapt we did!

A quick tour of our shop now shows only remnants of a darkroom and not a processor nor enlarger can be seen (all of it was recycled where possible). Boxes of photographic paper no longer line the walls and our fridge, previously overflowing with film, now only holds our lunch. Two things remain however: our quality and our commitment to our customers.

Currently Colour by Schubert has a staff of two. Roland Schubert and his son, Dave Schubert.

Roland has worked in the field of professional photofinishing for over 40 years, having almost 30 of those in business for himself. From humble beginnings on the corner of Talbot and Fullerton, to a downtown destination Roland and his wife Myra made Colour by Schubert a rock in a sea of change.

Arriving in Canada from Germany in 1955 at the age of 7, Roland grew up just outside St. Thomas, Ontario. After high school, he embarked on many adventures, like hitchhiking through Europe for a year and a half and riding his bicycle across Canada. After settling down a bit, he attended the Fanshawe College photography program and soon thereafter discovered that his love of printing was pulling him into the world of photofinishing.

In his time, Roland has seen remarkable changes in technology and techniques pertaining to his chosen field. The rise of the computer drastically reshaped the photofinishing industry. Realizing that timing is everything, Roland made the decision to trade chemical processing and darkroom enlargers for Photoshop and ink jet at the perfect time. This allowed him to not only keep his long time customers that were required to swap film for digital files, but also open the door to new photographers for whom running a large format printer would be unduly cost prohibitive.

It is Roland’s experience and his keen professional eye that keeps people coming back. He is always up for a challenge. Even seasoned Photoshop users will often ask ‘how did you do that?’ after a particularly difficult restoration. You only need to come in and talk to him about your project to see that experience in action.

He lives with his wife and partner Myra just north of London.

Dave started his career with Colour by Schubert when he was 15 working in the B&W darkroom. This experience ignited his passion for visual media.

After high school, Dave moved to Vancouver, BC, where he spent 13 years. Integrating his past experiences in the darkroom and with photography, he worked in the video industry for 10 years, primarily as an editor and camera operator. Digital media is his passion, and he is constantly adapting and training to stay on top of emerging technologies.

As the world moved on-line so has Dave. He has taken up residence in a remodeled darkroom and designs and develops websites including this one.

He currently lives in London with his wife and daughter.