One Year of the Hometown Series in Medicine Hat

One year ago, as the insanity of 2020 kicked in, I saw the majority of my upcoming projects and travel shoots evaporate under lockdown. Realizing I was going to have some time on my hands, and that 80% of my business would be paused without being able to travel, I did something I hadn't done in years - I began exploring my hometown in detail again.

The resulting "Hometown Series" shot in Medicine Hat, Alberta has seen the creation of hundreds of new local images, thousands of reshares, and nearly 2.5 million online impressions over the last 12 months. I can't begin to thank everyone who expressed interest, shared engagement, and provided the patronage that further fueled the entire project.

You can explore highlights from the "Hometown Series" as an extension of the original Around the Hat collection that launced back in 2012. Thousands of images have been categorized here.

To mark this anniversary I've released two new limited edition, numbered collage prints titled, "Hometown Winter" and "Hometown Summer" - each featuring 30 unique images from the series. Only 25 units of each collage are being released. Details are on the Editing Luke facebook page if you'd like to get one before they're gone.

Finally, I put together this short video to promote the "Hometown Series".

Hometown Series: February Highlights

Originally debuting on the Editing Luke facebook page throughout February, these images are winter highlights from the "Hometown Series" shot in Medicine Hat, Alberta this month. 

Hometown Series: January Highlights

Originally debuting on the Editing Luke facebook page throughout January, these images are winter highlights from the "Hometown Series" shot in Medicine Hat, Alberta this month. 

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.