On Saturday, June 4, thousands of photographers fanned out across the country to capture the best image of their cities, towns and villages shortly after sunrise or just before sunset.

The result is a stunning collection of images sponsored by Posterjack, a photo printing company that wanted to showcase the beauty of the country ahead of Canada Day celebrations.

Canada’s Golden Hour project includes photos taken from coast to coast, featuring beautiful morning or evening skies across Canada’s largest cities and picturesque regions such as Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula and Alberta’s Lake Louise.

The hour after sunrise and before sunset is referred to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour” because the position of the sun at that time produces particularly flattering light for outdoor photographs.

Golden Hour project

(Quebec City. Photo by Martin Cauchon)

Tim Faught, the president of Posterjack, said the project was inspired by A Day in the Life of Canada, a book published in the 1980s.

Faught told CTVNews.ca that Posterjack reached out to its customers – which include both professional photographers and hobbyists – and asked them if they wanted to participate in the Golden Hour project.

“We ended up with over 1,000 really good entries, and then we narrowed it down,” Faught said, adding that he was “blown away” by the quality of the photos submitted.

“It really is hard work,” he said. “It required (the photographers) to have a pretty constricted timeline. They only had an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset.”

Faught said many photographers prepared for the shoot weeks in advance, testing out the best spots to take pictures and get the lighting just right.

Faught said Posterjack may sponsor a similar project next year, when Canada marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Golden Hour project

(Vancouver. Photo by Jason Docarmo)