Bourne left a career in banking to set up a photography company in India in 1862. From his studio in Simla, he made photographic treks through the Himalaya and Kashmir, often under appalling conditions. He used the "collodion wet process" exclusively for all his work, which meant having to carry his own "portable darkroom" and stores of chemicals on all his expeditions. Bourne relayed his experiences back to Britain in a series of articles he wrote for The British Journal of Photography. He sold the resulting photographs to the British residents in India to take home as souvenirs when their tour of duty was over. His series of photographs of Indian rulers was especially popular.

Some of his early prints of the military asylum at Sanawar and the surrounding Himalayan foothills were held in the School archives for many years. Framed copies of some were also hung on the walls of the Teacher's Common Room and the Admin Office. It is not known what happened to them.