Editing Luke: Around the Hat: A Medicine Hat, Alberta Photo Series

In early 2012 I became fascinated by some archival images and old postcards that I found of my hometown, Medicine Hat, Alberta. As I began to read up on the local history I started to uncover a wealth of stories that I'd never heard before, clues to landmarks that I didn't know existed, and the foundation for what would become this project.

Medicine Hat Alberta Photographer Editing Luke Fandrich

Having grown up in Medicine Hat, I quickly recognized what a valuable thing it was to have images of the past to gauge the progress that had taken place in my small part of the world. I realized that my own fascination and discovery could not only be shared, but that there was a rewarding challenge in showcasing a landscape that had become commonplace to me. The archival images that I first saw made me realize how quickly a community can change and how rare it was for those changes to be documented in a small prairie city like Medicine Hat.

While I work as a professional photographer and videographer, my approach to creating my Around the Hat photo series has been an entirely personal one. I've tried to focus on locations of cultural significance, while also including places that seemed particularly defining to the local landscape. This has included popular, lesser known, or altogether abandoned areas.

At their best, I feel my photographs (especially in combination with the numerous archival images I've sourced) create a mosaic of the growth and evolution that has defined Medicine Hat since its establishment in the late 1800s. Subsequently, my series has an added relevance in that many of the locations I've photographed have either celebrated or are about to celebrate their centennials. In the early 1910s Medicine Hat was experiencing an economic boom, and my series echoes that development by showcasing just how much has changed in the last century. In that sense, this isn't merely a reflection of my hometown, but of the Canadian prairies at large.

NOW AVAILABLE:
You can order custom prints of any of the original photography in this entire collection. They make a great gift and are ideal for framing.

These are some of the Around the Hat series highlights:

Thinking Hat Exhibition

On 2nd: Documentary

Inside the Bell Tower of St. Patrick's

Sweet Caporal Building
Towne Theatre

Inside the Vacant Towne Theatre

Train Station

Hometown Series in Medicine Hat, Alberta

During the lockdown beginning in early 2020, and with travel options limited, I took it upon myself to shoot a new library of local content by launching the "Hometown Series" shot in Medicine Hat, Alberta. These are some of the project highlights that have been shared on this website:

At present the Around the Hat collection consists of more than ten thousand images. This is a list of locations that I've photographed over the years: