I’m always drawn to bridges when scouting for photography locations. One of the most iconic bridges in Vancouver is the Lions Gate bridge. The Lions Gate bridge opened in 1938 and was originally known as the First Narrows Bridge. Alfred Taylor convinced the Guinness Family to purchase land in West Vancouver, which they did and called The British Properties. Construction of the bridge started in 1937, took a year and a half to complete and cost close to $6 millions dollars. In 1955, the Guinness Family sold the bridge to the province. In 1986, as a gift to Vancouver, purchased the decorative lights that make it such an iconic nighttime landmark. Over the past two years I’ve had the opportunity to photograph it multiple times, in different conditions, and at vary times of the day. Here are some of my favourite locations.

Stanley Park Seawall

Take a walk down the seawall, there are tons of vantage points of the Lions Gate. One of my favourite is right below it, capturing the lighthouse and bridge in one shot. I’d recommend taking this shot either early in the morning when there aren’t a lot of people around and the sun is rising over those mountains in the background, or later in the evening with a filter and a long exposure. This will ensure you get as little people in your shot as possible. The seawall can get pretty busy and personally I prefer my shots to be people free.

Stanley Park Seawall

Again, along the Stanley Park seawall, if you go at low tide you can get further out on the shore to capture the entire bridge. I love getting right next to the water (even getting in the water) and shooting a long exposure. This smooths out the water and makes the lights on the bridge pop. I love the lights in North Vancouver running up the mountain too.

Prospect Point

This is one of the most common/popular places to photograph the Lions Gate Bridge, but I feel every photographer has to do it! The key is to put your own spin on it. It’s great to add some edits in photoshop but I like the simple shot. To be honest I’ve only photographed the bridge from this location once but when i’m in Vancouver next and have a chance to get here again, i’ll try something different or experiment with effects in photoshop.

Ambleside Park @ Sunrise

Head to Ambleside Park in North Vancouver for sunrise to avoid the crowds and get some amazing photos. The joy of sunrise is most people aren’t motivated enough to get up that early to get up and watch sunrise. Everyone and their dog is motivated to watch sunset, but usually not sunrise. This is why I enjoy sunrise more than sunset. Ambleside Park is a beautiful park right on the water, you can catch a great view of sunrise from here but i’ve also caught some stunning sunsets from here too! Take some time before sunrise/sunset to walk around the park to find your own take on this image.

Underneath The Lions Gate

Follow the Stanley Park seawall around until you cross under the bridge. I’m a huge fan of symmetry so this one is a no brainer. I went around sunset, set up the tripod and waited for the perfect timing. On a really epic night you can have the mountains in the background really light up from sunset.

Ambleside Park @ Night

Another Ambleside vantage point. This one I took at night. If the water is calm you can get some amazing reflections from the lights off the bridge but also from the city in the background. I’d love to take this shot again but extend the exposure time to 20-30 seconds to really smooth out the water. The ripples in the water did add a dramatic effect with the lights.

Cypress Mountain

Head up to Cypress mountain for sunset or sunrise if you want to get some amazing shots. If you stop at the Cypress Mountain lookout it’s insanely busy and there is very minimal parking available and nowhere to turn around if it’s full! Take some time to explore around the mountain when it’s less busy. I found this spot with a clear view of Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, North Van, etc… The shots are out there, you just need to find them!

Thank for reading, let me know what you find!