At the outbreak of World War II, the family returned to Bermuda where Saunders worked as a photographer with the police department.
During the 1940s, Saunders returned to the United States and began photography training at Brooklyn College and the New School for Social Research in New York City.
Saunders spent nearly two years there, living in the Hill District, where he "became part of the environment" and took four to five thousand photographs of the community.
In 1967, Saunders joined the staff of Topic, a magazine of the United States Information Agency (USIA), published quarterly in English and French in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 1973, USIA held an exhibition of Saunders’ work in Africa, which showcased 59 of his best photographs and toured the continent for two years.