Lena and Thomas Gushul were well known photographers who worked in Alberta in the first half of the 20th century. Thomas was born in 1889 in what is now Western Ukraine, in the village of Rozhniv. Thomas immigrated to Canada in 1906. Upon arrival, Thomas worked on railroad construction and also in mining. Lena was also born in the same village in 1898. She came to Canada a few years later in 1912. They married in September 1914, and operated two photography studios in the Crowsnest Pass area. They opened their first studio in Coleman in 1918 and closed it in 1928. The second studio was opened in Blairmore on the eve of 1921, and this studio operated until 1953. Thomas and Lena Gushul left a large archive; a big part of it is housed at the Crowsnest Museum.
Thomas Gushul was born in Rozniw, western Ukraine in 1889 and immigrated to Canada in 1906. Between 1907 and 1909, he worked for both the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Between 1909 and 1914, he worked in various coalmines in Blairmore. During the winters of 1909-1910 he taught Ukrainian to children in Schevchenko (Vita), Manitoba. In 1914, he married Lena Sawiek (1898-1981), and they had four children: Nadia (Rose) (1915-1959), Evan (1916-2014), Poraska (Nelson) (1921-1998) and Polly (Snowdon) (1923-2012).
In 1914, Thomas developed an interest in photography, and in 1917, he traveled to Winnipeg to study photography. In 1918, Lena, also a portrait and commercial photographer, joined Thomas in opening a photography studio in Bush Town, Alberta. In 1921, they opened a second studio in Blairmore, Alberta. In 1928, Lena and Thomas closed their store in Bush Town. Thomas received many awards for his photography work. In particular, he is remembered for his work in developing the practice of mine photography. Thomas later set up a photo-engraving plant that his son, Evan, operated for many years.
After Thomas' death, Lena continued to run the studio. The contents of the studio were purchased by the Glenbow-Alberta Institute in 1981, with some images distributed to heritage facilities around the province. The Gushul Studio buildings were restored by the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation in 1985 and used as the location for an artist's residency by the University of Lethbridge starting in1988.