Christmas Shopping on Fifth Avenue in New York City

Luxury brands, elaborate window displays, and crowds of people enjoying the sights dressed in holiday style - this is a slice of Christmas shopping along Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Big Sur on the California Coast

No matter how many times I take this drive, exploring beaches, bridges, and vistas along the PCH just never gets old. Here are a few more visuals from my latest road trip through Big Sur along this incredibly scenic stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway in California. 

 

About the Old Jaguar

I first posted this anecdote / image to the @editingluke Instagram. 

This Jaguar XJ8 appeared in the background of a lot of my older shoots, particularly those shot around Alberta, and it actually impacted a lot of my early content on this site. 

Just to be clear, my midlife crisis started right out of university.

When I first started making a little bit of money out of school the first major purchase I made was this old Jaguar. After years of feeling broke all the time, I thought, "I can top this" lol.

The funny thing is, looking back now I don't regret any of it. The stories and experiences that came from being "overly optimistic" about those early post-uni days have already paid years of dividends.

To be clear - my point is not to buy a car that turns you into a part-time Jag mechanic - but that making the ordinary entertaining for yourself can actually change your life.

Yes, it was just a car - but it made we want to go places. It inspired me to explore for no reason at all, and then one day I started taking a camera with me.

Up until this point I had just been a film student - all video. I shot short films and promos and commercials. But my first travel shoots have their roots here.

All because of a car I liked to drive.

*FYI, you could say a lot has followed in the last decade.

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. 

 

Steve McQueen's Jaguar XKSS

On display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California - Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS is an incredibly rare sports car. Based on the Jaguar D-Type racer, only 16 XKSS models were ever made. McQueen first purchased this car in 1958, sold it in 1969, and then repurchased it in 1977, owning it until his death in 1980.