How the "Middle America" Series Started

This quick story is a repost from the original on the @editingluke instagram. 

Just a short 5 years ago I was mapping out a road trip through the American South and realized I was capturing so much new material that I needed to seriously rethink what I was doing with my professional travel photography. 

I had several years of additional shoots at that point that didn't really have a purpose or a common link between them, but I knew if I connected some dots there was still a lot of value in releasing photo essays of lesser known locations. 

This was how the "Middle America" series was born on the Editing Luke website. 

Originally created to link all of the random shoots I had done across the U.S. - by 2019 the series had motivated me to fill in the last few gaps on my map and had me celebrating that I had shot photography & video (in varying capacities) in all 50 states and D.C. 

The "Middle America" series has taught me two crucial things. 

1. If you wait for the projects you want to work on to be created for you, you may never get the opportunity to do them. 

2. Giving yourself small goals that chip away at a larger one will have you stunned at what's possible in just 5 years. 

With the majority of my work between Canada and the USA, it's wild to see old goals and places I've been replaced with new destinations, project ideas, and plans to revisit. It all just becomes a bigger work in progress. 

Happy 4th of July! This Canuck can't wait to get back and see you Americans soon!