The series includes 1144 photographic items: black and white, and colour prints; black and white, and colour slides; and black and white negatives. The black and white slides are derived from the negatives, and most of the negatives have also been printed up as prints. There are, therefore, somewhat fewer than 1144 images.
The photography can be divided into two large groups: material dealing with Irene Spry's work on John Palliser and his expedition to western Canada; and other materials relating to Irene Spry's life, activities and career. More than two-thirds (833 of 1136) of the photographs in the fonds concern the Palliser research. The photographs derive from two major sources: original images which were made, for the most part, by Robin Spry in the period 1960-1962; and material which was copied from a wide variety of source, including archives and libraries, and descendants of John Palliser and others who were on the expedition. Robin Spry's photographs are primarily of the mountains and views of the different ranges which Palliser saw. Many of these photographs have been duplicated into slides (presumably for Irene Spry's use in lectures), and a number of them have been treated in several different ways by Irene Spry.
Photographs relating to Irene Spry's life and activities were extracted mainly from correspondence files, although some were also taken from research files, or her files on the Associated Country Women of the World. They include groups of photos from friends and family, and include many images of these friends and family sent on Christmas or other occasions. Most of the images are identified in one way or another. They are virtually all snapshots. There are also a number of photographs of Irene Spry's family, going back to the 1920s or possibly earlier. These may have been extracted from albums. They are not always well identified.
The material relating to the Associated Country Women of the World is, for the most part, snapshots of individuals and their families who Irene Spry had met or visited, particularly those in Japan. There are a few photographs of other members of the Association. There are very few items relating directly to her academic career.