Skinny Palms in Los Angeles, California

Not all travel shoots are about a specific destination, so much as they're about capturing the details that make you think of a place in general. Rows of skinny palm trees lining long boulevards are about as iconic to Los Angeles, California as the Hollywood Sign. In fairness, it doesn't hurt if you can find a street that allows you to capture both. 

 

Abandoned Cinema: Inside the Towne Theatre

Earlier this month I returned to the abandoned movie theatre I frequented as a teenager after learning that the interior had been pretty much gutted since my last visit. 

Back in 2013, I first photographed the abandoned Towne Theatre in downtown Medicine Hat, Alberta. At that time the movie theatre had already been vacant for years, but the interior was still pretty much intact. With its concession, theatre seats, and signage still in place, the Towne in 2013 was still a cinema that many would have recognized. That's not exactly the case today.

With the property having been on the market for years, and both the Monarch and Esplanade theatres just a few blocks away, the likelihood of the Towne Theatre ever becoming a working movie theatre again seems highly unlikely - regardless of how many nostalgia fueled posts leave people wishing they could go back to see one of their favourite movies here again. 

The lobby.

The evolution of this space has actually been a slow transition as there have been a few rumblings over the years that something might happen. While some may be saddened by the changes, I think keeping the theatre interior, as interesting as it was to explore, only further kept the property in limbo as it made it incredibly difficult to picture the space as anything else. 

Only time will tell what the future holds for the former Towne Theatre. In the meantime, I'm left with a greater appreciation for the previous images I shot in this old movie theatre and a renewed excitement for what it might look like when I find myself back here again someday.

A vacant main theatre.

A few tiles remain where the ticket booth stood at the entrance.

A now completely empty projection room.

Where the concession once was.

Former offices.

Theatre seats piled in the upper cinemas.

 

New Limited Release: Medicine Hat Arena Print

Now available as a lifetime release of only 100 units, the first major Editing Luke print sale of 2021 features this exclusive framed print of the old Medicine Hat Arena before the venue was retired.

To skip to the sale post on the Editing Luke facebook page click here.

In 2014 / 2015 I was commissioned to photograph several stages of development behind the new Medicine Hat Event Centre as it came to replace the Medicine Hat Arena.

Recognizing how quickly things were changing, and before any of the banners or signage was to come down, I also photographed the Old Medicine Hat Arena for posterity - capturing the venue as it looked in the final season the Medicine Hat Tigers would ever play there.

This never before printed image captures the Old Arena in both its prime and in its final stages as an active venue. After nearly five decades of Hatters experiencing this view in person, this photograph is a record of this arena as it should be remembered.

As a lifetime release of only 100 units, this hand-signed, numbered print will never be licensed, reprinted, or duplicated. This series was shot independently, so no third party was ever given access to these files. There will only ever be the original 100 prints released of this image.

To inquire or order, visit the sale post here.