William James was an early and prolific photographer who chronicled Toronto, Ontario.

[4] He made freelance photography his occupation in 1909, and was the founding President of the Canadian Photographers Association.

[3] James invented a developer that would eliminate grain in his photographs, and wrote articles about his experiments with camera technology and chemistry.

[4] James captured a photo of the first cable car to run across the whirlpool rapids of the Niagara River, which required him to shoot upside down with his Speed Graphic camera.

[4] He was also the first photographer in Canada to make an aerial movie, which he did from the open cockpit of a biplane.