The Best Photography Spots in Calgary: More Than a Stampede

If you’re planning a trip to Calgary, I have compiled a list of my favourite photography spots in Calgary. There are plenty of places to take photos in Calgary, especially in the downtown area. You can visit most of these spots even if you only have a single day in Calgary. And don’t worry, I’ve included some indoor photography locations in Calgary as well if you happen to visit during winter.

A lot of people visit Calgary for its famous Calgary Stampede. In fact, that might be all you know about Calgary. There are definitely other draws to the city though, one of them being some really quirky art installations and some interesting architecture. Exploring a city and looking for great photo locations is one of my favourite things to do when I visit, my other favourite thing is finding good food. Luckily, I found both some great photo spots and yummy vegetarian food in Calgary.

Even though I went to school in Calgary, this visit to the city was really my first time photographing Calgary. I’d seen it, passed it on the train, but hadn’t had time to take it all in and take some photos. Graduate school is just all demanding. On this visit to the city, it was nice to be able to relax and see what Calgary had to offer as a tourist.

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The Best Photo Spots in Calgary

Calgary Tower

The Calgary Tower is definitely Calgary’s most iconic piece in the skyline. You can see this tower from many spots in downtown Calgary and there are tons of places you can get a photo in front of it or as part of the skyline. The Calgary Tower also has an observation deck so you can go up the tower to get views of the city from up high as well. Originally called the Husky Tower, as it was built with the collaboration of Husky Oil, this 190-meter tall tower is now one of Calgary’s must-see sights. My favourite place to photograph the Calgary Tower is from the corner of 9th Ave SW and 1st St SW but wandering around Calgary’s downtown area will give you lots of vantage points.

Location: 9th Ave SW and 1st St SW, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Any time of year or day. Bring a tripod if you want a photo of the lights at night.

The Bow Building and Wonderland Sculpture

The Wonderland sculpture that sits in front of the Bow building has to be one of the quirkiest sculptures Calgary has. Wonderland is a giant mesh head, illuminated at night, that you can actually walk under. The building that it sits in front of is the Bow Building, voted one of the World’s best designed corporate buildings. The Bow will certainly catch your eye. With its combination of a disembodied head sculpture and the dark glass and heavy lines of the building, it was giving me serious evil villain headquarter vibes. Not that that’s a bad thing, every city has one or more, like Toronto having an evil looking city hall.

Location: 500 Centre St S, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Year-round, looks very striking at night when it’s lit up.

Hudson’s Bay Colonnade

Just off of Stephen’s Avenue is the Hudson’s Bay Building. The Hudson’s Bay Company has a long history in Canada, starting as a fur trading business in 1670. If you grew up in Canada, it’s unavoidable to learn about the HBC because of their place in our history and the control they had over the northern parts of the country. Now, it’s better known for its department stores and as the official Canadian Olympic team outfitter. The location in downtown Calgary was actually the first modern department store opened in a downtown by HBC.

The fun part to photograph at the Hudson’s Bay building in downtown Calgary are the colonnades. Its 380 feet long with huge polished granite columns and a beautifully checkered floor. Walking through the colonnade gives a bit more of a Parisian vibe than expected from downtown Calgary.

Location: 200 8 Ave SW, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Spring-Fall, during the daytime. Winter is a bit chilly for posing for photos here.

The Trees

Call them sails, call them trees, these giant white Tree sculptures can be found on Stephen Avenue. Stephen Avenue is a pedestrian street during the day time in downtown Calgary. Walking this street will take you by lots of shops and great restaurants. There’s plenty of great photo opportunities on Stephen Avenue and the Trees are one of them. These ten tree sculptures are up to 26 meters tall and are have been part of Calgary’s downtown since 2000.

Location: Stephens Avenue near the Core
Best Time to Photograph: Year-round, day time

Canadian Pacific Railway Overpass

One of Canada’s major railway companies is the Canadian Pacific Railway company and it’s headquarted in Calgary. Attached to their headquarters in downtown Calgary is a beautiful covered overpass. It’s over a pretty busy road but is an iconic building that is sure to catch your eye walking around downtown Calgary.

Location: 9th Ave SW and 1st St SW, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Year-round, daytime

Drinking Birds

This trio of Drinking Bird sculptures by Christian Moeller are exactly what you would expect. They actually bob as well, just like drinking birds. These massive Drinking Birds were installed outside the Central Library and I don’t know why, but they really look like they belong. I wouldn’t expect such a quirky piece of public art to look so fitting but I kind of love them. I will admit when I first saw them that my brain could not figure out why the arms to a parking lot would be so oversized but I quickly realized that was ridiculous and they are just a fun piece of art.

Location: 800 3 St SE, Calgary; City Hall Station on the C-Train
Best Time to Photograph: Year-round, day time

Olympic Plaza

As the name suggests, Calgary’s Olympic Plaza was created for the medal ceremonies for the 1988 Olympics. In the summer, bands play here and during the winter, you can rent skates and skate on the ice rink. There’s a legacy wall with winners from the Calgary 1988 Olympic Games. My favourite thing here is the bright orange pillars that each have the name of one of Calgary’s parks on it.

Location: 228 8 Ave SE, Calgary; City Hall Station on the C-Train
Best Time to Photograph: Winter for the skating rink, Summer for the reflecting pool. Daytime

Best Indoor Photography Locations in Calgary

Snap Foto Club

If you are looking to have an indoor photoshoot in Calgary, Snap Foto Club on Stephen’s Avenue is the perfect place to visit. They have 30 different backgrounds that you can pose in front of, the possibilities here really are endless. It’s a selfie-style studio so you can take as many photos of yourself as you want or have the professional photographers on hand take some photos for you. In addition to backgrounds and photo props, Snap Foto Club also has some really cool lighting setups. One of these is a shadow wall, which is backlit so you end up with a shadow of yourself. Another is the snoot, a light that can have differently shaped light cut-outs on it to create dramatic shadows like bubbles, tree branches, or blind slats. Unlike the other photo spots on this list, it is a paid experience but a great option for getting that perfect photo.

Location: 118 8 Ave SW #200, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Any time of year during business hours.

Calgary Central Library

The Calgary Central Library is one of the newer buildings on the scene. It was only finished in 2018. Library’s don’t always make lists for best photography spots, but this Calgary library is seriously a stunner. I thought the outside of the library was beautiful, with lots of geometric looking glass panels and a building that goes over the C-Train rails, but the inside might be even better.

The inside of the Central Library is perfect for photography. The wood-paneled atrium that you walk into and then has a massive staircase leading to different floors is beautiful. There’s tons of space here for people to relax and check out books. From the library, you can also get views of the Calgary Tower.

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Location: 800 3 St SE, Calgary; City Hall Station on the C-Train
Best Time to Photograph: Year-round. Daytime hours for interior shots.

Devonian Gardens

Devonian Gardens is a large botanical garden on the top floor of Calgary’s Core Shopping Centre, right downtown. This tropical oasis is a welcome respite from winter weather and is full of trees and water features. There are living walls, koi ponds, and even a playground for kids. There are plenty of great photo opportunities here or places to sit and relax.

Location: Top floor of the Core, 333 7 Ave SW, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Year-round, during business hours

Best City Skyline Views of Calgary

Scotsman’s Hill

If you’re looking for that perfect photo with the Calgary’s skyline in the background including the Calgary Tower and Saddledome, look no further than the view from Scotsman’s Hill, just off of Salisbury St SE. This lookout point is just above Enmax Park and gives you great views of Calgary. It’s a popular spot so it can get busy during the summer. If you are already visiting Saddledome, there are stairs to easily access the top of this hill to get the best vantage point for photos

Location: Above Enmax Park off of Salisbury St. SE, Calgary
Best Time to Photograph: Any time of year. During the blue hour (twilight) would look great. Tripod is needed for night photos, this one was taken by hand and is a bit shakey.

Peace Bridge

The Peace Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that connects downtown Calgary with the neighbourhoods across the Bow River. It opened in 2012 and ever since then, has been a popular photography spot in Calgary. This helical steel bridge has a glass roof and bike lanes. Not everyone loves it but it’s definitely become quite iconic of Calgary. There are great views of downtown from the bridge and if you cross over to the other side you can get photos of the bridge and with downtown Calgary in the background.

Location: Near Eau Clair Park, off of 1 Ave SW
Best Time to Photograph: Looks more striking during the summer when the river isn’t frozen over.

Photography in Calgary

Overall, Calgary has some really great photography spots just in its downtown core. With the addition of some really great architecture in recent years, there is sure to be something for most urban photographers in this western city. Even if you only have a single day before heading out to Banff or indulging in the Calgary Stampede, you can see many of Calgary’s top photo spots.

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