#319 TURNing it Up with Sameer: Edmonton's Unofficial Tourism Ambassador

Sapreet sits down with Sameer (@sameer.pictures), the photographer whose work makes Edmonton shine.  He shares how a self-taught hobby turned into real tourism impact, plus practical tips for exploring the city and starting your own creative practice.

• Why Sameer calls himself an Edmonton ambassador rather than an influencer 
• Early culture shock moving from Bangalore and how Edmonton became home 
• Learning the city through downtown walks and river valley trails 
• Picking up a camera in 2018 and getting an early boost from CBC Edmonton 
• Shifting from photos to Instagram Reels and drone photography for new perspective 
• Seeing real-world tourism influence and earning Edmonton Tourism Award nominations 
• Making the case for Edmonton as a four-season city with winter lights and fall colours 
• Simple creator advice: start with your phone, learn on YouTube, keep going past the slow start 
• The message behind the work: a positive look at Edmonton’s growth and affordability 
• Standout collaborations with Travel Alberta including The Last of Us location project 
• Favourite Edmonton spots: Walterdale Bridge area, Foosh, Bodega, Brown Butter Cafe, Heritage Festival 
• What he loves most about Edmonton and what he’d change about transit 
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Transcript

Welcome And Why Edmonton Matters

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Here Turning It Up with Sapreed, and today we are joined by the man behind the lens, Samir, also known as Samir Pictures on Instagram. Let's talk to him right here on the Universal Radio Network.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Alright, it's the Universal Radio Network, and today we're sitting down with Edmonton Influencer, Ambassador Advocate. I'm not sure, Samir. There's so many things I could title you as being the guy behind the lens for Edmonton. Well, first of all, I want to say welcome.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

So how does it feel being known as one of Edmonton's biggest influencers, ambassadors, cheerleaders?

SPEAKER_03 0:55

I don't know if I'd call myself an influencer. I think um more uh of an ambassador. I work a lot with Travel Alberta and I try to represent Edmonton as much as possible uh when it comes to tourism and whatnot. And um, yeah, it it feels it feels good. I mean, that was not my intent when I started off, but you know, here we are now.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Yeah, so everyone is tuned in. Samir is the individual behind Samir Pictures, the one we've been following on Instagram. We've been admiring your work, and you have made Edmonton look so beautiful, and you're attracting tourism to our city through your camera and your craft.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Yeah, um, I mean, like I said, I started off as just as a hobby, and then I saw the engagement, and people uh started reaching out, and my following grew and um traveled to Alberta, they wanted me to promote Edmonton a lot more, right? So I saw that some what I'm doing is actually making a difference. So yeah, like I said, I get a lot of uh queries about things to do in Edmonton, and um, you know, and it's mostly folks it's surprising, it's mostly folks from Canada. Uh I I assume that you know most Canadians knew what Edmonton was, and Edmonton, I feel like sometimes get uh gets this um bad rapper because they call it Tedminton and things like that, right? So I I think um I I get a lot of comments of that sort too, but I'm like you have to come and explore. There's a lot. Like we have uh a huge river valley. I just posted a reel today um just showing the river valley, right? So and it's larger than um I think 80 times larger than Central Park or something. So yeah, there's a lot to do. Summers, winters. I feel like Edmonton has a lot to offer.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

I agree. I think Edmonton's such a beautiful city, but like you said, um unfortunately it does get a bad

First Impressions Moving From Bangalore

SPEAKER_02 2:45

PR, and I find that mostly with other Canadian cities that Edmonton does get that, but you have found the beauty in Edmonton, you have showcased it. Let's actually talk about the first time you came to Edmonton. I know before our conversation you said you moved here about 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

Yeah, yeah, I did. I I'm originally from India, Bangalore, so I grew up uh there, and then I moved here around 2008, and um I mean it was exciting, it was exciting, you know, new uh new country, new place, but it was a bit of a culture shock for me. I moved here in May and I see I mentioned this story to everyone that I I walked out of my house and then it was a bright sunny day, not a single soul outside, right? I'm used to seeing so many people, you know, regardless of the time of the day, right? But I walked out and there was nobody. I'm like, wow, it took me a bit to get used to it, but uh now Edmonton's home, and uh, I think I've gotten now if I go back to India, of course I I love India, but I think I've gotten so used to living here that I'm uh you know I feel a little out of place.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Yeah, the common piece can be like refreshing for Edmonton, but coming from Bangalore to Edmonton, that's a big transition. Like you said, it's a very busy, high-paced city. Oh yeah, and Edmonton is definitely a different pace. So when you came to Edmonton, how did you feel? Like, did you fall in love with the city or when you were going around, say, the river valley, which you mentioned earlier, did you start seeing the beauty that a lot of us miss when they go around Edmonton?

SPEAKER_03 4:11

So um, yeah, Edmonton. I used to um work in downtown. So I used to in the beginning just take the bus, and I liked and it it used to always go through that McDougal Hill, and that was quite fascinating, right? So um downtown is on top of this hill. So uh, and it was summer when I moved here, so um, yeah, it would go through the river valley, and sometimes on Fridays I would take the long way around, so I would just walk through the river valley. Uh, I would go through the the ski hill there and then get to um somewhere by Bonnie Dune and then catch a bus so that I can go through River Valley, right? So, but I think after I didn't explore Edmonton as much in the beginning. I think

Finding The City Through The River Valley

SPEAKER_03 4:55

once I start started um photography is when I started exploring it a lot more, trying to try I was trying to find a good perspective of Edmonton to take pictures from, right? So I always, you know, after work I would just drive down, park my car uh around uh downtown and just walk around for hours trying to find that good perspective. Yeah, I I just I'm just thinking about it right now, and yeah, there were days I was just wander around with my camera aimlessly, just trying to see if I can find a good angle of the downtown. And the um Waterdale Bridge was under construction, so I wanted to make sure that was part of the pictures, and um there was also the Stantic Towers, so I was just trying to you know find a good perspective. So it was fun, it was a good exploring Edmonton

Learning Photography And Getting Noticed

SPEAKER_03 5:40

back then, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

And the art of photography, is that like a hobby that you picked up? Are you self-taught or is that something that you learned through photography classes?

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Um self-taught. I I picked up my camera in 2018. I I was actually traveling with one of my friends, and I used his camera for a bit, and I was like, Yeah, this is fun, right? So then I bought um one of my own cameras, and then I just started taking pictures, and um uh just for fun, I posted on Instagram because everyone was just posting it casually, and then I saw CBC Edmonton picked up one of my pictures and they reshared it on their page. I'm like, wow, okay, so people are liking my picture, right? So that gave me um a bit of a boost and motivation, so I kept doing that, and then uh Travel Alberta reached out to me. Uh they wanted to buy pictures and they invited me to uh um a creator summit that they have multiple times a year, and they wanted me to represent Edmonton um to showcase you know the things uh that Edmonton has to offer. So that's how it started off, and then um I got very serious then. Uh it's it's a bit addictive, right? I started investing in um uh uh equipment like bigger, better camera, lens, and whatnot, and uh I started traveling more often. I um I used to go to the mountains. Uh there were times where I used to wake up at 2 a.m. and drive uh in the middle of winter to capture a sunset. I did that once to capture uh sunrise, sorry, around uh bow lake, and it was incredible. I don't know if I have it in me to do it now, but uh it was it was great uh those days. And uh yeah, traveling a lot. I I do a lot of solar traveling. I um I I was always fascinated with Japan, so I spent three weeks there just taking pictures. I think by the time I was done with the trip, I had around 9,000 pictures. I'm sure I still haven't gone through all of them, but yeah, it's uh it was it's fun. I I enjoy the craft. I I like the process, you know. People see the end result, but to me it's um um it's the process, it's trying

Reels And Drones Change The Game

SPEAKER_03 7:50

to find that location, trying to you know get there at a time where I the light is amazing, you know, like pictures are obviously better during golden light and sunset and whatnot. So it's just that hustle that that I enjoy. And uh yeah, and and then also the medium changes right now. Instagram is it used to be pictures, now it's reels, so I have to change um how I create content. So I've gotten into like don't drone photography and uh um video creation using reels, and that provides a different perspective of Edmonton. I feel like most of my engagement uh grew because of uh the drone photography and reels, because uh the River Valley is absolutely incredible, and from uh up top there it looks stunning.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

So it is stunning. I will say, whenever you post a reel and I go on Instagram and I start going through my stories, every second person is resharing

When Content Starts Driving Tourism

SPEAKER_02 8:40

your reels, and it's so beautiful to see that because you do capture Edmonton in a way that I think I don't think anyone has been able to. And I mean, you started from a hobby, but then, like you said, travel Berta, explore Edmonton, but then you also were nominated for the Edmonton Tourism Award, which was really fascinating to me that you were nominated in a category which is attracting tourism to our city. How did you feel when the nomination came through?

SPEAKER_03 9:05

Yeah, this was actually the second time I was nominated. Um, it was it was incredible actually, because I've you know come to terms that um, you know, initially when I was posting reels and content, it was most I was trying to sort of uh do it from an artistic perspective. I wanted to be, you know, like hey, this is uh my art, that's what I'm putting out there. But you know, the engagement it it uh led to folks wanting to visit Edmonton often. So I think um I don't know if if I I should say that I am responsible for tourism, but I think I'm sure when people search uh for Edmonton on Instagram, a couple of my reels shows up. So yeah, it it felt good. Uh it felt good, and there were some amazing uh creators and there are amazing companies that were nominated, and to be nominated alongside them was uh was incredible. And I got to meet a lot of people, make a lot of good connections over there. So yeah, uh it's it's definitely a a good uh platform and uh a good event for there are so many amazing creators in Edmonton. I I uh take pictures with a lot of different ones. I over time I've I've uh there's a huge community and I've made a lot of friends, and yeah, and I I see some of them being nominated as well. So yeah, it was it was incredible.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Earlier on, I introduced you as an influencer, and you're like, I don't know if you would categorize yourself as an influencer, but from my perspective, it's the people that have influence, and that comes to exactly the point of you're attracting tourism, your photography, what you're putting out there is influencing people from other cities. I personally have, and I'm not just saying this, I was once at Olia, and the table next to me was talking about how they're visiting Edmonton and it's such a great restaurant. I started talking to them, and they told me they had come from Saskatchewan after seeing one of your reels. Oh, wow, okay. Yeah, and that's when I was like, okay, the impact and what you have created, it is influence. You are making Edmonton, and Edmonton is a beautiful city, and I do think the beauty is missed or it is not appreciated as much as it is, but you've captured it and it's just beautiful. Is honestly your content is so stunning and it's not just summer. A lot of people say Edmonton's a festival city and it's just beautiful during the summer. Yeah. If you go to your profile, the captures you have from winter, from autumn, you make Edmonton seem like a 12-month city, which I think a lot of people don't assume when they think of Edmonton, because winter, we just sort of think there's nothing to do in the winter, but you're out there and you're showcasing what winter

Edmonton As A True Four-Season City

SPEAKER_02 11:35

in Edmonton is, and it is beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

100%. I think um hey, even if you just talk about river valley, right? So every season there's something to do, right? I um there is there are so many trails where I just go for walks during fall, and it's stunning, you know, the colors, and people say, Okay, you have to go to uh the east coast and whatnot to see the colors. But if you just walk through uh the river valley during fall, you'll see all these yellow leaves and whatnot. There are a few pictures that I've taken, and I when I posted, people uh are like, is this Edmonton? I'm like, Yeah, and they ask me the location. It's all it's all very and river valley is huge, you don't have to go all the way to the downtown, right? It starts at Mill Creek, you just start there and then you just wander around. And um, and I think uh when people think of Edmonton, they focus a lot on the downtown, right? Of course, downtown has a lot to offer, but you know, if you just leave downtown uh a little and then you go to the surrounding areas, it has it has a lot more as well, right? And then during summer we have the the river boat, um that's amazing. And uh during winter there are so many festivals that happen around um the Churchill Square. So I usually love to fly my drone around there just to capture the lights, and you know, they have they have the whole Churchill Square decorated with lights and the Christmas tree and whatnot. So there's there is I think there's a lot to do. Um, you know, you just have to get out and expert. And I feel like most of the population live in suburbs, and it's a bit of a uh drive. It's like 20 minutes, not not that bad. So and with the LRT and everything, you can get to downtown easily. And like I said, I you don't have to get to downtown, just uh, you know, even kinsmen, I I go there often uh, you know, just to walk, and and there is there are trails under the water rail bridge, and there are trails that take you to Whiteab. So it's yeah, it's there's there's a lot to do in my opinion, and you just you just

Practical Advice For New Creators

SPEAKER_03 13:30

have to get out and look for it, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:32

So and for those that are tuned in that are maybe there's a hobby or something they've wanted to pursue, but they haven't taken that step. What advice could you offer to them? Because we've seen the success of a hobby project through what you've created here. So, any advice you could share with anyone that's tuned in?

SPEAKER_03 13:48

Um I think you you just go in when I started, you know, there was this thing about niche. You have to find your niche. Uh, when you wanna and Instagram is a good platform, it has you know its um no pros and cons, but I think it's still a good platform if you want to be a creator, if you wanna promote um your creativity, right? So, and to do that, um you you have a device in your hand, you can just use your phone. You don't need expensive equipment, you don't need expensive camera, because most of the uh content that you see these days that people are posting, everything is created using we are we're using phones right now to shoot this, right? So I think you just have to start creating it, and then I think you will you need to have a bit of a purpose in mind as to as well as to what are you trying to um communicate, what message are you trying to are you trying to uh promote tourism, are you trying to trying to promote uh you know restaurants, you know, there are there are I mean I said uh there was um that niche is important, but I I think you can you can have a very broader niche. You cannot you don't have to be focused on just restaurants or just um you know um showing places that are exciting. It can be very broader, just things to do around Edmonton, or you know, you can do portrait photography using that that's becoming quite uh popular these days. Uh portrait photography. I see a lot of folks, you know, just taking pictures just with uh my with their camera. And one of my colleague, he's uh in um Toronto, and I just started following him. We've been working together, and I and all he uses is pixel camera, and he's got incredible pictures. And I asked him what camera does he use, and he said, I just use my phone, right? So I think you just have to start creating, and then you'll and there's so many uh tutorials. I learned everything through YouTube, right? I would spend hours just you know watching YouTube videos and uh learning how to edit, learning how to color. Um, you know, it's always good to have uh a bit of your own um signature look to whatever you create, you know, so which um evolves over time, you know. When I started off, I think my look was a little too saturated, but now uh it's start it's sort of moving, um evolving a little, but yeah, it's it's um I think a lot of folks they try to also um expect success right away. I think it takes time, right? So you have to keep grinding, and then when something clicks, um, and then it it's it's addictive. And also um when you post on Instagram, uh when you get comments and when you get likes, um, when you get appreciation from people, that's also a huge boost, right? Um, that okay, I have something that I'm doing is liked by people, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:38

So yeah, it is very rewarding. Yeah, yeah, like you said, one of your first ones was CBC, and in that moment, I I can tell it's such a big moment for you, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:46

Yeah, it was. I I'm like C B C. I had to double check if it's actually CBC, but it was, and and they asked me to come in and they gave me a hat. I still have that baseball cap uh in my house. So yeah, it was it was it was a good feeling.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

Excellent.

The Positive Message Behind His Work

SPEAKER_02 17:00

Now, speaking of messages, I know you just briefly touched that. Like, what message are you trying to put out with your work? When someone comes to your profile, what message do you want them to leave with when they sort of leave your profile of like this is the message I'm trying to create and put out in the world?

SPEAKER_03 17:16

Um just a positive look about Edmonton. Um, Edmonton's grown quite a bit, right? So the a lot of people have have moved here. Um, and um there's a reason, right? So of course, uh Edmonton has great um it has a good job market, and also there is um it's cheaper, right? Compared to other cities, right? More affordable. And uh I most of the messages that I get um are people asking for, you know, what are the good areas to sort of you know come and settle down in, and what are the good restaurants over here, things like that, right? So with my uh content, I'm just trying to promote uh like it's uh cliche word, the beauty of Edmonton, right? From all particular angles. Um, you know, like there are so many different neighborhoods in Edmonton that I try to fly over and sort of show how it has evolved. Um, whenever something new opens up, recently there was a rec center that opened up in uh um North Edmonton. Um it it looks like um the apples, you know, it looks like a disc. I forget what, Millennium? I know I think I'm getting the name wrong, but it looks like a circular thing, it's sort of it's beautiful from inside and outside. So I flew uh on top a lot and tried to, you know, sort of and uh I got a lot of engagement on the trail because people didn't think that it was Edmonton, right? So things like that, and uh also there is uh there is whenever there is something um that's being renovated, like there was a huge renovation that happened around ledge, ledge grounds, they have new fountains and whatnot. So I worked with one of the companies that that was responsible to sort of uh improve that area, and then we created some content just to showcase you know things have changed. Um, yeah, so essentially trying to promote Edmonton uh from a from a broader perspective just to capture its beauty from like like you said,

Big Collaborations And The Last Of Us

SPEAKER_03 19:15

all the different seasons and all the different angles.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

And now you've worked with multiple companies, you've collaborated with a lot of them. What has been your most exciting project so far?

SPEAKER_03 19:25

That's a good question. There was uh there was a project that I was working with Travel Alberta where they want they had they have a library of pictures um that they um you know they want pictures from all over Alberta that the web vendors can use to promote different cities. So I did a project with them where they had given me, I think, a list of like 15 different places in Edmonton where they wanted me to capture um uh videos and uh photos from all these different angles uh on during summer. So these are a lot of places that I had never uh seen before, right? So that was quite exciting. I spent I think close to two months, and there was another project that I worked with them uh for The Last of Us, the show. So it was shot in Edmonton, it was shot um all over Alberta. So um they wanted me to go to all these different locations and uh take pictures of that location and try to compare it. So that was a fun project. I got I went to all these different towns that I'd never even heard of, and uh yeah, just to see how it was done. There was one location that was just a gas station, right? A gas station um in this small town which had like maybe hundred people population. So yeah, I spent a week 2023 just traveling across Alberta, uh capturing pictures. So yeah, that I think that was one of the

Favourite Spots Food And Festival Picks

SPEAKER_03 20:50

most uh fun projects with them.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Yeah, that's really cool. Yeah, I have a few questions, Samir. I want to know Edmonton a little bit more from your lens. Like you said, people reach out, they ask you about Edmonton, places to go. So I want to ask about some of your favorite places in Edmonton. What would you say your favorite area in Edmonton or neighborhood in Edmonton is?

SPEAKER_03 21:09

Um I think I like the area around the Walterdale Bridge. There's so much to do there. It's it's got like this huge open space, it's got trails going in all directions, right? So one trail will take you um towards the 99th Street, and they are along the trail, you'll see a lot, you'll see a very nice perspective of the Walterdale Bridge. Uh, if you go in the evenings when the lights are on, you can see the the bridge reflect, and there are also some um like mountain biking trails that will take you to the edge of uh the river. You can just there are so many times I've just sat there, and a funny thing happened in the very beginning where I was just sitting over there taking pictures, and uh the Edmonton Riverboat was uh was passing through. So I was just taking pictures and I was wearing the them, they waved back at me, and apparently there. A wedding that was happening over there, right? So a couple of days later, I posted the picture and then I got a message from the bride saying that that was my wedding. Uh, can you you know, can I buy the picture of you? Right? So I sold the picture and they had it on their album cover. So yeah, so I think that area I I spent a lot of time there, and even if you on the other side, if you keep walking toward Kinsman, the trails over there are incredible. You can, you know, rent one of those uh bikes and just explore the trails. I spent a lot of time over there. It's even if I'm not taking pictures, right? It's just incredible just to see um all the activities happening. There's so much hustle bustle there, so yeah, I love that area.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

And what is your favorite Edmonton restaurant?

SPEAKER_03 22:42

Hmm, good question. There are quite a few actually. Um I like um the restaurant in downtown, it's the Asian Fusion Restaurant, Foos Repair Shop.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

Oh yes, that's a good one. That's such a good one, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

I I like that restaurant. The vibe over there is next level, it's quite incredible. And there is another restaurant that we go to quite often, um, bodega. I I love their paya, it's it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

Bodega is really good, yeah. Both really good choices, very quintessential Edmonton, both of them. What is your favorite cafe?

SPEAKER_03 23:15

So there is a cafe by my house called Brown Butter Cafe. I love their uh uh sandwiches. They have this thing called as uh morning bun witch. It's incredible. It's they've got it's it's really good. They've got, you know, like uh sweet onion, they've got eggs and avocado, it's amazing, and their coffee is absolutely amazing as well. Yeah, around uh the Ellersley area, uh that's one of my favorite cafes.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Yeah, shout out to Brown Butter Cafe. It's a couple run, it's a couple that runs, it's very cute. Yeah, I agree. It's amazing. Festival City, that's what we're known as. What is your favorite Edmonton Festival?

SPEAKER_03 23:50

I think Heritage Festival has to be that. I've like since since I got here, I think I've I've been there every year. I just go there mostly for the for the Guatemala mangoes, you know, the spiced mangoes. Yes. Yeah, I stood in line to just get those mangoes, but generally the vibe over there is amazing, and Harlak Park generally is you know an incredible place to be. And I was very excited to go this year, but I think it I mean it got rained out, but hopefully next year.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Yeah, so this year, funny enough, Sunday was the day they oh it was a one full day they got and they extended the hours. So a lot of people went like amazing to see how much Edmonton showed up on Sunday. But my friend said she stood in line for two hours for the mangoes. Yeah, yeah. It's worth it, I think. It's worth

What He Loves And What He’d Change

SPEAKER_02 24:30

it. And I was like, I love that. I loved seeing everyone show up on Sunday. It was really rewarding. I think that's one of the great things about Edmonton. And from for you, Samir, what is the one thing you just absolutely love about Edmonton?

SPEAKER_03 24:43

Um I think Edmonton the where it's located, you know, it's it's located in in I feel like sometimes it's located in in in the middle of a forest with the river valley surrounding it. Right. So I think I'm and I love like large trees, I love greenery. So I feel like whenever I you know go take a walk anywhere, I walk uh a lot. I I love walking, you know, and I try to find places where I can just go walk for hours, and I feel like Edmonton has that to offer and also the people in Edmonton, right? So I meet a lot of people. Um, a lot of people reach out to me. Um, I in the beginning I used to sell a lot of prints, so I used to meet people in person uh to hand over the prints and just to see the appreciation from them was was incredible. And and I've met so many people through uh photography. Um there are some incredible, incredible creators, and uh just the camaraderie and um the support for for you know folks who is trying who are trying to promote Edmonton is incredible, right? So there was once I was just taking a picture and uh and a cop uh he was walking towards me and I was like, Oh, am I in trouble? And he's like, he asked me, Hey, are you Samir pictures? I'm like, Yeah, so it was it's funny, like you know, people start um recognizing um because of the content that you create. So yeah, I think the people here are incredible.

SPEAKER_02 26:11

That's really cool. And if there's one thing you could change about Edmonton, what would that be?

SPEAKER_03 26:16

Um, I'm not a fan of driving, so I've I wish there was um a bigger LRT network. It's so I mean it's growing constantly. I'm so glad that there's one that goes from Millwoods to downtown. So I think um, yeah, I I wish there was more um public transport in the form of LRT. Yeah.

Final Thanks And How To Follow

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Okay, cool. Well, thank you. I've been looking forward to our conversation for a long time. And I was like, you know, I'm just gonna reach out and see what happens. And you responded right away, and I'm grateful, and I'm really, really grateful for everything you're doing for Edmonton. I don't know if you actually understand the magnitude of how much you're representing the city and how you are getting so much attention on Edmonton through your platform. And it's always really nice to be able to sit down and have conversations with people like you.

SPEAKER_03 27:01

Awesome, thank you. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

No, thank you, Samira. Thank you. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

This was Sapreed, and make sure you stay connected with us across socials at the Universal Radio.