Quebec from Point Lévis, 1858—65. Compiled by Thomas E. Blackwell. Library and Archives Canada, e011092613. (Photo: Courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada)

She says the exhibit “Taking It All In: The Photographic Panorama and Canadian Cities” features some of the finest Canadian examples of how the panoramic photograph was used to represent the rapidly growing cities and towns of a young nation.

While anyone with a smartphone can take a panoramic shot nowadays, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first panoramic images weren’t photographs, but large paintings that created a sense of “being there.”

Quickly realizing the entertainment value in this format, photographers started spending hours stitching together individual photos. The oldest panorama in the exhibit is of an urbanizing Toronto in 1856, with the most recent exhibit photo being Medicine Hat, Alta. in 1913.

“I find it fascinating to look closely at the photograph and the details,” Delaney says. “You can see buildings being built that still exist today. I think there’s always an interesting link.”

But this exhibit isn’t just photographs on walls. Alongside an electronic viewer presenting a slideshow of panoramic images of cities like New York, the exhibit also features a lithograph that was made from a panoramic photograph of St. John, N.B. in the early 1860s.

The exhibit is on display until March 1, 2015.