More Travel Shoots in La La Land

Admittedly, I wasn't exactly itching for more Los Angeles, California travel content considering the number of visits (and still unreleased shoots) over the last few years. That said, if there's one place that I could go again and again and not get bored, it would be Los Angeles.

The focus of these latest shoots was "the kitsch of Hollywood". Movie studios, theme parks, theatres, and memorabilia helped to round out the set dressing for an already extensive collection of locations. As always, there was a lot to see and do and I can't wait to share more from this series in the months ahead. See more on the @editingluke Instagram. 

 

Another Round of Travel Shoots in New York City

This spring I was back in New York City to add to an already extensive collection of travel shoots around the five boroughs. Making this series particularly memorable was the timing of the solar eclipse and some ongoing discussions about my documentary "Your Cinema Needs You", which inspired me to search out the oldest surviving cinema remaining in NYC.

These latest shoots included new observation decks, popular filming locations, and hotels, but to an even larger extent, a lot more general street photography to round out some of the more specific shoots from past visits. The weather was incredible and I managed to cover a lot more ground than I had planned for which was all a bonus. Expect to see a lot more New York City highlights from this series in the months ahead. 

 

Explore Hawaii: A Travel Magazine Feature

A travel feature about a series of images shot in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

2022: Top Photo Essays of the Year

2022. A year where, due to the documentary production, new posts on the Editing Luke site dropped by almost half, but traffic increased 38% - go figure.

My Lensa AI gallery on the website has to receive an honorable mention, despite not technically being an original photo set, the post generated tens of thousands of hits in just the last month as a result of being early on the trend.

It easily encapsulates the randomness of "best of" lists, as it's always a bit of a crap shoot to understand why something hits. All that said, here are the Top 9 most popular, original photo essays released on the Editing Luke site in 2022.

9. Belgian Beer, Belgian Chocolate, and Belgian Waffles

A recap of some of the stereotypical "bests" experienced in Bruxelles.

8. Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France

Architectural images of the Louvre's iconic entrance.

7. Space Shuttle Discovery in Virginia

A detailed collection of NASA's most travelled Space Shuttle.

6. Villa Vizcaya & Gardens in Miami, Florida

Architectural images of one of Miami's most historic estates.

5. Surfing in Manhattan Beach, California

An impromptu shoot on the California coast.

4. Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California

A look behind the gates of one of the world's most iconic movie studios.

3. Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London, UK

Easily the most coincidental photo essay of the year from the streets of London.

2. Osaka Castle in Japan

An exploration of one of Japan's most visited castles.

1. Savi's Workshop Lightsaber at Walt Disney World

A look behind the upcharged lightsaber building experience within Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge ... because ... lightsabers obviously lol.

 

What Difference Does A Trailer Make?

A week ago I had anticipated some public response when the preview for "Your Cinema Needs You" finally dropped. What followed ... thousands of fresh eyes on what I'd been up to this year, renewed public interest, HUNDREDS of messages, media coverage, a rally of support to see the film premiere in the Monarch, and so so so many questions. 

All amazing - but also, exactly what you'd hope a solid trailer would do.

What I wasn't prepared for was the trailer for "Your Cinema Needs You" inspiring a few tip-offs about the potential future of the Monarch Theatre, and the preview convincing the only hold out interview of the entire documentary to finally request a sit down.

Earlier this week production resumed for a single day inside the Monarch, and as a result of this final interviewee's involvement even more unreleased archival material has been secured for the documentary. On what in any other year would be the sleepy haze between Christmas and New Years, I feel like I've been racing. I've just created more work for myself, but I suppose this is the hectic reality of capturing a story that's still being written. 

This new year should be very interesting.

Monarch Documentary: Teaser Trailer

Let's go to the movies!

Opened 111 years ago today on December 21, 1911, the Monarch Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta is a cinema that's been hiding an incredible story. Here's your first look at the new documentary "Your Cinema Needs You" directed by Luke Fandrich. Coming 2023.

For more updates on the release of this documentary follow @editingluke

New Artwork in Medicine Hat Brewing Company

I want take a moment to shoutout Medicine Hat Brewing Company here in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Last week I had the pleasure of delivering a large order of custom canvases from my "Hometown Series" to be utilized in one of their new spaces.

While it never gets old to see your work appreciated, there's really nothing quite like when it's at home. I've always tried to be vocal and engaged in promoting my community to a wider audience, so anytime a local business goes out of their way to work with me I want to show them some love too - particularly when I'm also a frequent customer lol.

Thank you MH Brew Co. for the patronage and for another unique opportunity to see my work on display in my hometown. Let's do it again sometime.

One Year Into Production on the Documentary

One year ago I announced that my new documentary about the Monarch Theatre had been greenlit - a largely unknown (outside of my hometown of Medicine Hat, Alberta) historic cinema with a really unique backstory.

No surprises, it's come to define a lot of my 2022.

Production updates, exploration, title reveals, behind the scenes, media releases, etc. It's been fun to share parts of this process (if for no other reason) because uncovering the history of a century old cinema, its origins and evolution, etc. lead me down a few rabbit holes that I needed help climbing out of (so to speak).

Through months of research, interviews, filming, more research, delays, and seemingly endless editing I'm able to finally share that the project is ... still not done. But, we're close-ish ... at least closer. All the puzzle pieces are built and the outside edges are done.

So while a 2023 release is imminent, I'm feeling more and more excited about what's coming up in these final months.

Which begs the question, would anyone like to see an actual sneak peek of the documentary if I decided to release a preview early? Because the trailer is ready and I'm hyped lol.

*REPOSTED: From the Editing Luke facebook page.

A Month of Travel Shoots Across Europe

For the month of September I was having the time of my life on what I can only describe as the most elaborate, continuous travel shoot I've completed to date. With shoots taking place across Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, and Scotland, there was no shortage of things to do, places to see, and experiences to capture. It was a wild month!

While content from these shoots won't really start to emerge until 2023, I did share a handful of highlights on the Editing Luke Instagram @editingluke as things were unfolding. Unlike most shoots were it feels relatively easy to sum up the adventure under a single banner or theme, I'm still reeling from just how varied and expansive this entire undertaking was. I'm going to need some time to be a bit more thought provoking - but, in short, it really was incredible.  

Rise Up YXH Hot Air Balloon Festival 2022

A few visual highlights from my weekend of shoots as the official photographer for the inaugural Rise Up YXH Hot Air Balloon Festival hosted in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

 

First Hot Air Balloon Ride Over Medicine Hat, Alberta

Last night's shoot from the air was a long standing bucket list experience checked off my list. I'm proud to share that the Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival in Medicine Hat has hired Editing Luke as their official photographer for this first of its kind event in Southeastern Alberta.

 

Documentary Production Continues

Production on the Monarch documentary has been ongoing this month. 

This week I've been following up on rumors about several artifacts / stories surrounding the Monarch Theatre. I literally examined screw placements on vintage chairs over the weekend lol. I crawled on my hands and knees through a century of basement cobwebs in search of another secret hatch. And, perhaps best of all, yesterday I successfully acquired an untapped collection of images featuring the former neon marquees lit up two decades ago.

Piece by piece we're pulling this thing together. Post-production is on the horizon. Now, how cool would it be if we could invite everyone back and premiere this in the old Monarch?

Hawthorn Dining Room & Bar at the Palliser

Seamlessly blending the weight and heritage of the Palliser Hotel with a fresh and thoughtfully modern aesthetic, the Hawthorn Dining Room & Bar is the ideal spot for a late night drink or morning coffee. The comfortable and eclectic styling of this grand lobby bar is effortlessly cool, inviting, and enough to warrant a visit on your next visit to Calgary, Alberta.

Around the Hat: 10 Year Anniversary

It was 10 years ago today that I launched a series called Around the Hat (aka the Hometown Series) featuring scenes around Medicine Hat, Alberta. I couldn't have predicted how much would've have snowballed from this self motivated project, but from prints to production agreements to the hundreds of photo essays from around the world that eventually followed, a lot of that momentum started right here with this series.

Before the Editing Luke production company became a full-time operation I was looking for ways to create content to drive visitors to my website. I had an interest in exploration, history, and expanding my business to include photography in addition to the video production I had already been doing. Medicine Hat, my hometown, felt untapped in terms of people going behind closed doors to show off what was there. So I began to think about what it would be like to contextualize the local history into compelling plot points and to develop character out of a sense of place in a way that felt fresh, energetic, and above all, visual.

Coming from a filmmaking background and education, this was all a deliberate exercise to get my feet wet and build an audience through storytelling. My first photo essays featured the most obvious historic sites and attractions, like - Medalta Potteries, St. Pat's Church, and the Cypress Club (all posts that have now been updated since their first release). 

To be clear, the history was really just a jumping off point. I wanted people to feel like they were exploring with me and still have context for what they were seeing along the way. When the initial posts attracted thousands of hits in a matter of days I knew I was onto something.

Over the years the series continued to refine itself with regular social media posts on Facebook and Instagram, and into more elaborate photo essays on this site that featured glimpses into places that most people weren't able to see or had largely forgotten about. Recently I highlighted the renovation happening inside the former Cecil Hotel and put together a recap of the former Riverside Waterslide. While larger photo series' and projects continued to follow this one, after a decade of growth the Around the Hat series alone has been responsible for millions of hits. 

While the collection isn't complete and continues to expand and deviate, the lesson here has been all about approach. Sometimes a simple change of perspective makes the familiar seem completely new again - I just chose to share it as I was doing it.

Explore the complete Around the Hat series here.

 

Documentary Production at the Towne Theatre

Documentary production briefly moved centre stage this week with some exploration of the abandoned spaces within the former Towne Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Those who remember seeing movies here would now be hard pressed to recognize this interior as the cinema it once was, but there are still a few clues hiding within these walls.

It's a strange feeling to return to a place you so actively remember from your own childhood, not least of which because you find yourself tapping into memories you didn't know you still had. Each step just gets me a little more excited about how this documentary is coming together.

This stage of production has become about rounding out a lot of the specific visuals inspired by the stories collected during numerous interviews at the nearby Monarch Theatre. Creating a record of a lot of these forgotten spaces has been a real bonus.

Searching For Monarch Theatre Artifacts

I need your help Medicine Hat, Alberta.

With production of the Monarch Theatre documentary well underway, it's become increasingly clear that there is an extreme lack of artifacts surrounding any of the movie theatres in this area. Having exhausted numerous archives, online resources, and the locations themselves - I wanted to ask the public if you have anything in your personal albums or collections?

Some of what I'm looking for:

1. Any photographs or souvenirs from movies theatres in the Medicine Hat area. This includes the Towne, Monarch, Drive-Ins, Empress, etc. One place to look is if you took pictures during a Stampede parade there's a chance you may have captured the theatre in the background. Really anything could be an asset as there are so few pictures from over the years.

2. Were you a former employee of a Medicine Hat movie theatre? Did you keep anything? Name tag, uniform, pictures, tickets, free movie swag, etc. Please reach out as you may have some of the only leftovers from these theatres.

3. In 1999 the Monarch Theatre gave away its old cinema seats to anyone who wanted to come and take them. Did you get one? Do you know someone who kept one? I would love to see an image or connect with anyone who may have done this.

4. This is a shot in the dark, but I'd love to know if anyone knows what happened to the old neon Monarch marquee when it was taken down? The assumption is that it just went to the dump because it wasn't working anymore, but if anyone knows anything I would love an update.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered information and resources to help further the production of this documentary this year. With so little written or formally documented a lot of this project has been made possible through word of mouth.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have anything to share regarding the Monarch or any of the former Medicine Hat movie theatres. Thank you!

Contact here.