Jack Lindsay was born on May 5th, 1915 in Theodore, Saskatchewan. He lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1915 to 1927, and moved to Vancouver at the age of 12. He attended the University of British Columbia for one year and worked in a variety of jobs in the Alberni, Port Alice and Vancouver areas. In 1938 he was employed by the Vancouver News-Herald, first in the printing department and later as a news photographer. From 1941 to 1947 he worked as a news photographer with the News-Herald on a contract basis, this left him free to pursue commercial clients in addition to news photography. He was self-taught and did not have any formal photography training.
During the second world war, he worked for a news-reel supply firm called Associated Screen News, based in Montreal. He had three stories accepted using his photographs for news reel coverage: the Greenhill Park explosion in Vancouver harbour; construction of Hells Gate fishway; and, a new style of lifeboat davit.
From 1947 to 1986 he worked as a photojournalist and commercial photographer based in Vancouver. In addition to this work, he worked as an independent film maker, including projects with Parry Films. In 1958 he started a film company called Pageant Productions with Bill Roozeboom. They produced documentaries and industrial films. Pageant Productions was sold to KVOS TV in 1965.
After 45 years as a commercial photographer he retired in 1986. He died on October 10, 1994, age 79, in Vancouver.