Construction of the Regional Event Centre

This last month I've been busy working on a new video surrounding the construction of Medicine Hat's brand new Regional Event Centre. A couple of weeks ago I toured the site with the mayor to shoot some footage for the project, during which time I captured these images of the construction site. The event centre is really starting to take shape. This is going to be an amazing facility for the city, and I can't wait to see the acts that the new event centre brings to Medicine Hat, Alberta when it opens next year.

Here's a little teaser of the work in progress. Stay tuned.

Aerial Photography in the Canadian Badlands

I have to say, the workdays where I get to play tourist are pretty amazing. Last Monday I was contracted by SPECTACLE Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism Inc. (who I collaborated with on our Thinking Hat exhibit) to shoot some aerial photography for a development project they're working on outside of Drumheller, Alberta. 

We chartered a helicopter from Horseshoe Canyon, and as beautiful as the views were from the ground, seeing the badlands from the air was absolutely spectacular. Coincidentally, I had just been in the area a couple weeks prior exploring Rosebud and the Hoo Doos near Drumheller.

I was sat in the back of the helicopter with the side door removed so that my view would be unobstructed. It was a flashback to the last time I shot aerial photography when I first started with Stream Media back in 2008 - that was quite the adventure too. After our flight, Phil and I were both buzzing about the experience. Despite all of the collaboration on our exhibition, this was a pretty amazing way to kick off our first time working together professionally.

Aerial Photography, Alberta Badlands
A helicopter, Alberta badlands, and CCR. http://goo.gl/3AS0U6
Posted by Editing Luke on Sunday, March 20, 2016

And while it is incredibly cliche, I can't deny that this is how the experience played out in my mind. I've maybe watched a few too many Vietnam war movies.

Philip Vandermey

A rare snap of me in action.

Side door off.

Flood Exhibit: A Shoot for Salazar

Last night I was back shooting at Medalta Potteries. Unlike my past work however, I was actually doing a follow up shoot for a project by Salazar Films out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Aaron Nelson, the Artistic Director at Medalta, was responsible for putting me in touch with Salazar when they were looking for a local filmmaker to assist in their project after they'd finished their primary shoot in Medicine Hat. Anyway, long story short, it turned out to be a good connection.

The exhibit, Flood by the students of Elm Street School, opened last night and was a showcase of artwork on clay tiles depicting student's memories surrounding the devastating flood that hit Medicine Hat last year. It was cool to interview a few of the kids and see them get excited about their work on display. I also put my big HDV Sony away, and took the opportunity to shoot with one of my DSLR's for a change - this is something that I'll probably be doing a lot more of moving forward. 

Stay tuned and I'll be sure to follow up when Salazar releases their finished film. In the meantime, here are a few of the snapshots I took between setups.

Exploring the Medicine Hat Brick Plant

In 2012 I was fortunate to get the opportunity to document and explore the Medicine Hat Brick and Tile Plant (I-XL) for my Around the Hat photo series. I photographed the interior extensively, and immediately fell in love with the location. The aging machinery and eerie silence make it a fascinating post-industrial landscape to get lost in. 

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of going through the brick plant again, this time with the specific goal of understanding the chain of events that take place in the brick making process. I'm currently working with old footage of the plant in operation to create short vignettes of the various stages, which will eventually give visitors a rare glimpse of the machinery in action. Medalta plans to open the factory to the public for guided tours soon, and these videos will be a big part of enhancing that experience. In the meantime, here were some of the new shots I took on my return visit.