Road Trip Photography in Alberta

Each year I plan several short photography trips and one longer adventure. Every second year, the Canadian Association for Photographic Arts (CAPA) holds a three-day photography conference in a different location. This year, the conference was in Calgary, Alberta, and it became the centrepiece of my annual photography road trip.

Rather than fly, I drove from Vancouver Island and camped along the way. It meant I could bring far more photography gear than airline baggage limits would allow, and it also gave me the freedom to change my plans whenever I found something worth photographing.

While it was tempting to spend time in the Canadian Rockies, I prefer visiting them outside the busiest tourist season, and I had a different set of goals for this trip.

My first stop was Alberta's hoodoos. I'd never really had the chance to photograph them before, so I visited several different locations and came away with quite a few images that I'm really happy with.

Hoodoos with a dramatic dark sky

One evening I decided to spend some time photographing the Milky Way. I was facing south, using some interesting foregrounds to frame the night sky. Once I finished, I turned around and noticed a faint, hazy glow to the north. A quick photo with my iPhone confirmed what I suspected; it was the northern lights.

I quickly moved to a couple of nearby locations to get away from some distracting lights, and ended up with a collection of aurora photos that made the unexpected stop well worthwhile.

The dancing aurora and a bridge crossing the Red Deer River

My other major goal, aside from the conference itself, was to photograph Alberta's wild horses. I'd heard about a couple of areas along the eastern slopes of the Rockies where they could often be found.

Before getting there, I came across a field of domestic horses, which gave me a chance to practise before finding the real thing. Then, for three days in a row while exploring the areas I'd researched, I found several different herds of wild horses and managed to capture some images that I'm really pleased with.

Sneaking a peek at the wild horses

With that success behind me, I decided to spend a little more time exploring southern Alberta. I made a quick visit to Lundbreck Falls, where I'd photographed a few years earlier, before returning after dark to try capturing the falls beneath the Milky Way. While I was there, I met another photographer working on the same idea, and we spent some time chatting before getting back to our cameras.

Although I booked a few campsites in advance, I intentionally left many nights unplanned so I could stay flexible. Of course, travelling during the Calgary Stampede meant that finding a campsite at the last minute wasn't always easy. Most campgrounds were full… but not all of them. The flexibility allowed me to chase photographic opportunities that I never would have experienced with a rigid itinerary.

One of my earliest photography interests was aircraft photography, especially at the Abbotsford International Airshow, and I've continued photographing aviation from time to time over the years. That got me thinking about finding a small airport where I might photograph some interesting aircraft.

The first airport I visited was quiet, with nothing happening on the ground. Looking for another option nearby, I discovered that the Rocky Mountain Drift Club was holding an event.

Motorsports photography is something I've only recently started exploring, and I'd never photographed drifting before. The club members were incredibly welcoming and were happy to let me photograph the event. It turned into a fantastic experience, and they even invited me back the following day for more track time and more photography opportunities.

Everything’s a blur as this driver skillfully drifts his BMW around the large tire in the centre of the course

With a couple of days still remaining before the conference, I settled into another campground. After setting up camp and making dinner, I noticed someone a few sites over assembling two large tracking telescopes. Naturally, I wandered over and struck up a conversation about astrophotography. Those unexpected conversations are often one of the best parts of travelling.

And all of that happened before the conference even began.

The CAPA conference featured multiple speakers each day, along with photography outings before, during, and after the conference. Every presentation I attended was worthwhile, covering a wide range of outdoor photography topics and offering plenty of inspiration for future adventures.

As an added bonus, I also came away with several new podcast guests lined up for future episodes of the Shutter Trails Podcast.

You'll have to stay tuned to find out who they are.