Calgary Canada: A photography tour of Calgary

I'm lying flat on my belly in front of a pond full of autumn leaves, pointing my camera at the reflection of the Calgary skyline and trying to ignore the sub-zero temperatures penetrating every inch of my being.

"That's it – go low," my guide Neil Zeller says. "That's one of the secrets to good landscape photography – getting down and dirty. And cold," he chuckles.

I'm exploring the Canadian city of Calgary with Zeller, one of its leading photographers. He runs workshops and photo tours designed not only to teach participants about their camera and photography in general, but also where to find the most photogenic views of the city – it's a "best of" tour from one of its most passionate advocates.

Zeller is proudly Calgarian, self-taught and got his start after being discovered by the local tourism authority on Instagram. His collection of images depicting the city's Peace Bridge earned him the local nickname "that bridge guy".

The ebullient former furniture salesman has since built a successful business capturing the city in all its glory – his work being in demand for professional campaigns – as well as sharing his know-how and favourite shooting locations with visitors who want to translate travel experiences onto their camera screens.

Calgary is in the state of Alberta, at the confluence of two rivers between the foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the prairie. It's often regarded as a small town masquerading as a big city, as a place with a corporate heart but a Cowtown soul. Its most famous tourist attractions are Calgary Tower and the annual rodeo, the Calgary Stampede – but neither of these is on Zeller's agenda. He's more interested in a more local perspective.

Our first target is a remarkable installation that graces the plaza outside the Bow Building in downtown Calgary. Titled Wonderland, the 12-metre wire-mesh sculpture was created by renowned Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa. It depicts the head of a young girl, opaque and contoured from a distance, but increasingly transparent on approach, allowing city views to penetrate. Two openings in the neck allow you to wander through the head, a portal to "the palace for our dreams", according to the artist.

Zeller then leads us to the structure that forged his reputation – the Peace Bridge. Spanning the Bow River, the futuristic red pedestrian bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, was a controversial addition to Calgary's streetscape in 2012, but has since been embraced as one of the city's most beloved landmarks.

"I loved it from the very beginning," Zeller says as he snaps away randomly at his muse, daring his camera to capture a different angle, a distorted reflection or a transforming beam of light. "As I was photographing and sharing the photos on social media, I was doing so in a positive way, which in the end helped others see past the controversy and toward the beauty and public art functionality of the bridge."