Entering Calgary from the south, you crest a plateau. You see it right where you decide between Deerfoot and Barlow Trails. You find yourself looking out and over Calgary’s sprawl, the possibility of a panorama shot – Calgary’s skyline looking northward and a nudge west to downtown towers. The image has potential. Each time, though, I am beginning an eleven or more-hour drive home, impatient to get the drive done, not anticipating a niggling desire to work this image, needing to wrestle intentions in favour of stopping my vehicle and making the photograph. Do dissonant moments like this happen to you as a photographer – the recognition of a possible photo on the periphery of awareness being met with that other intended thing that needs done?

This Calgary skyline panorama shot will need a tripod and head levelled. The head will accommodate a Canon 5D Mk III via an L-bracket for a telephoto lens, a Tamron 150-600mm lens zoomed in as far as needed. Aperture priority will allow a consistent exposure of f-8 or f-11. Manual focus using back screen magnification will allow me to maintain sharpness among common parts of each image when merging images.  I want most things in this photograph to be sharp and in focus. I will trial two methods for finding focus: first, focusing on an element a third of the way into the scene, and an alternative approach, if the foreground is more than a metre from the lens, focusing on the object in the distance that I intend to be clear and sharp – the towers. Limiting vibration within the camera will involve turning off the image stabilizer. Then, with the camera in portrait orientation, it’s about gathering a series of shots overlapping by a third on each. Depending on how far I have focused in on the scene (and how much the scene fills my viewfinder), the panorama will need three, five, seven or more shots. In terms of composition, I intend to keep Calgary’s towers to the left side of the image – that’s my starting thought. But in looking at the scene, other compositions may present themselves. Here, though, juxtaposition is what this scene calls for – the vertical of Calgary’s downtown towers and the horizontal sprawl of the city and perhaps the broader landscape.

The Rocky Mountains may feature in the background, a welcome element. Cloudwork will add to the image – wisps of Cirrus clouds at dawn. Working through the blue hour and into sunrise may yield a variety of colourful panoramas to work with. Other panoramas are possible along the Deerfoot, each providing a different foreground from which to consider Calgary’s skyline.

So, this panorama of the Calgary skyline needs planning, and it requires me to make time for the making of this shot. A trip to Calgary will need to consider dates, weather and times. Two days in or around Calgary might work – a day to scout and review starting shots and another for final photos. Rest will factor in – while luck favours the prepared, having slept well adds presence to the equation of what the photograph will become. Writing this post is a kind of preparation, allowing me to consider bringing this photograph’s intention to reality.

A YouTube video along with Google Maps helped me find this vantage point for the Calgary Skyline panorama image above. I found my way from the Deerfoot to this location. I parked my truck, loaded camera gear on my back, walked down the hill and set up the tripod and camera. I trialled four panoramas from this location and looked for other possible subjects of interest from this location afterwards. Then, it was about packing up, walking the hill, stowing gear and returning to my homeward drive. This image is one I hope to shoot again as a dusk shot, a night shot and a winter scene in the snow. That planning is ahead of me – something I look forward to.

Listening to – U2’s ‘Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,’ ‘Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World,’ ‘Elevation (Influx Mix),’ ‘When I Look at the World,’ ‘Get On Your Boots (Fish Out of Water Mix),’ ‘New York,’ ‘Magnificent,’ ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Grace.’

Quotes to Consider / Inspire:  (1) “If you say there is nothing interesting to shoot, it is you that is not interested (Jon Luvelli).” (2) “I put together artwork like tiny pieces of a puzzle, with hopes of one day seeing the whole complete picture and therefore understanding myself more (Jon Luvelli).”