Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina, Saskatchewan

Opened in 1927, Hotel Saskatchewan is one of Canada's grand railway hotels and is located prominently on the edge of Victoria Park in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan. Constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, Hotel Saskatchewan was the fourteenth hotel in the CPR's nationwide chain and has maintained its standing as one of Regina's most luxurious accommodations. 

On their visits to Saskatchewan, the Royal Suite at Hotel Saskatchewan has hosted world leaders and celebrities like the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Queen Elizabeth II. 

Hotel Saskatchewan in 1930.

As a teenager I moved to Regina to attend the film school at the university here. While staying at Hotel Saskatchewan was out of the question back then, on this recent travel shoot back I thought a suite would be a nice way of upgrading my nostalgia for 'the Queen City'.

Archival postcard of Hotel Saskatchewan.

 

The Art of Making Your Work Discoverable

Since my film school days I've always put a lot of faith in the idea that my next opportunity rested on how easy I was to find. The mantras have likely changed to suit the stories occasionally, but it's always been some form of - "make your work discoverable!"

All this really means is that when you create something you put your name to it, tag it strategically, link it, and then do your best to network it. And truth be told - be it through social media, early film festivals, or my ever-evolving website, this philosophy has paid major dividends over the years. 

I like to point this out, because the roots of this philosophy were revealed to me last month when I received a personal message from a defunct Flickr account I created in 2011.

Messages about content I've made are not uncommon these days, but years of dead-on-arrival requests make you more attuned to introductions that show potential to lead somewhere.

As it turned out, someone working at a design firm in Philadelphia had discovered a photo essay I'd shot around City Square Plaza in Regina, SK back when the new upgrades had just gone in. Regina is where I went to university, by the way, which is partly why I'd shot some of these images. The message came through an old email address from Flickr that was then forwarded to my new one. 

Not only was I surprised that this Flickr account still existed and that the message had actually reached me, but the images I'd uploaded were shot years before travel photography was even on my radar. I was honestly a bit embarrassed ... mostly because someone was contacting me about work that I had essentially forgotten about and wasn't actively promoting in any way. I'm admittedly my own worst critic, but I never expected anything to happen with these shots.

Long story short, payment just cleared this week and a handful of these images will be going up in the TD Bank Tower in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan as part of a new installation. 

So, about that mantra, "make your work discoverable" ... turns out it's now working on the stuff that even I'd forgotten about.

Back to the University of Regina

Since 2008 I've randomly found my way back to my former film school at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan for the odd refresh. It's fun to see what's new, check out my old dorms in College West again, and wander around the practically unchanged hallways in the film department. I'll spare you the drawn out personal trip down memory lane, but here's a post that goes into more detail about my last few years in film school if you're interested. 

In the meantime, here are a few snapshots from my latest return to the U of R. 

A Few Days of Exploring in Saskatchewan

It's been a few years since I was last in Saskatchewan to do some dedicated exploring. The motivation this time was to catch up with friends, which actually opened the door to play tourist for a change. From staying at some iconic hotels to checking out the new Remai Modern in Saskatoon to retracing my past steps at the University of Regina, the visit turned into a series of completely new experiences in a place that I had previously thought had become too familiar. 

What better excuse to explore and put some extra time on my Canada Day long weekend to use? Stay tuned as the new images debut in the Hey, Canada photo series.