For the record, there's something pretty uplifting about recapping the best parts of your year, editing out all of the stress and exhaustion, and then making it appear really organized and focused - go figure! In all seriousness, 2016 was an ambitious one for me. It was also incredibly scattered and uneven in terms of how everything played out, but I did get a lot done.
This was a year of some massive new projects, a year when Editing Luke reached more people than ever before, and a year, when frankly, I've never worked harder to open new doors and make things happen. Here are some of those things that made my 2016 memorable:
January 2016 - At the very start of the year shooting was already underway for what would become the massive schoolwide documentary that I was filming at Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta. We still weren't exactly sure what we were embarking on, but I put together this post to announce the project.
January 18, 2016 - I flew out to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan and shared the experience with my Dad. We had a blast exploring the city and my Motor City photo series that followed got a lot of traction over the course of the year. I also put together this brief video to highlight the auto show and new series.
January 27, 2016 - After being asked to photograph the structure for archival record, I finally debuted the images I captured of my old high school after renovations began. The nostalgia of seeing Medicine Hat High School as it was one last time proved popular as the series attracted tens of thousands of hits. See Part 1 here.
February 12, 2016 - I was up in Calgary, Alberta working on an ongoing video production in collaboration with Streamline, MHC, and Medalta. Not only was the production a lot of fun to work on, but the shoot was also a great opportunity to explore and photograph more of Calgary for my Alberta travel library. Explore more of that here.
March 15, 2016 - I debuted a brand new video with the Travelling Exhibition Program highlighting artwork in rural Alberta.
March 16, 2016 - Indulging one of my former film student whims, I bought myself a really expensive piece of memorabilia that I've wanted since high school. See it here.
April 2016 - I spent a week road tripping and shooting travel photography all over Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The trip was a great excuse to get away for my birthday and expand my Pacific Northwest travel series at the same time.
April 25, 2016 - Following up on an earlier series of images, I returned to my old high school again to photograph the aftermath of some of the demolition / renovation in full swing.
May 13, 2016 - After months in production, Innovation @ Medalta debuted.
June 2016 - I flew down to Atlanta, rented a car, and spent two weeks road tripping through the American South and Midwest on another photo journaling adventure. I shot a ton of material for my brand new Middle America photo series. Needless to say, I met a lot of characters along the way and became one myself.
June 29, 2016 - On the last day of school before summer, I shared a few updates about how the schoolwide documentary I'd been filming was unfolding.
July 1, 2016 - I shot a little video of the Canada Day fireworks that went over pretty well.
July 13, 2016 - I photographed my friends Enslow performing at the Monarch.
July 29, 2016 - I decided to challenge myself by shooting and editing a little visual exploration of the midway at the Medicine Hat Stampede.
September 1, 2016 - I kicked off a new video project with the Canalta Centre (soon to debut). On a side note, I shot some awesome concert photography at the Canalta Centre over the course of 2016 as well. More of that can be found here.
September 5, 2016 - After receiving yet another random message asking for free images, I put together this post about why supporting creative content matters. Clearly a lot of other people agreed, because the post took off.
October 5, 2016 - After months of organizing and rebuilding my travel library of Southern Alberta, I finally began debuting it to potential clients. At 1700+ pics (and growing) it's the largest preview gallery of final images that I have assembled to date.
October 14, 2016 - I won the 2016 Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
November 2016 - For Christmas I began debuting all of the Disneyland and California Adventure travel photography that I had shot in December 2015. These made for some really popular additions to my Roadside California series that I expanded substantially this year.
December 2016 - My year culminated with the official end of production on the schoolwide documentary that I'd been collaborating on since mid-2015. I provided more clarification about the project in a new post here. With this one project being such a major part of my year, it's been amazing to look back and realize how much else was going on. It should also be no surprise that with post-production just kicking off, this documentary project will certainly be a big part of my 2017 as well.
So, that was my 2016 in a nutshell. I've glossed over a lot of the "work" that actually took place because that would mostly be shots of me editing at 2am or scheduling shoots or returning emails. But really, I can't complain. For all the ups and downs this was a pretty good year.
Thank you to all those that I've had the pleasure of collaborating with in 2016 and to all of you who have continued to visit this website and explore my work. The support that so many of you have shown me has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for sharing your time with me in 2016 and for making this even more fun than it already is. Happy New Year!
What an eventful year that 2015 turned out to be! It was a year of rebuilding, a year of embracing Editing Luke as my full-time career, and a year where I finally had the freedom to chase more of the opportunities that really mattered to me. Editing Luke reached millions of people in 2015 - yes, millions! From videos and photo essays to blog content and instagram posts, I saw my content thrive this year in some incredible ways.
Here are some of the things that made my 2015 memorable:
January 2015 - I officially launched my Roadside California photography series. Over the course of the year this lead to numerous travel shoots around the state and some amazing new contacts and followers. Although the collection has already grown by thousands of images, much of what I shot has yet to be released. As a result you can expect some exciting posts coming up in 2016. View the Roadside California series (so far) here.
January 13, 2015 - My reveal of the former Earl Kitchener School transformation into a private residence went viral locally. Capturing my hometown of Medicine Hat, Alberta has lead to some incredible opportunities in previous years, but this one lead to tens of thousands of hits in only 24 hours. In only 3 days it had acquired over 2.1K likes/shares on facebook and over 25K hits on its own momentum.
February 2015 - I photographed the Tongue on the Post Folk Festival. I didn't realize music and concert photography would become such a major part of my year, but this was the event that kicked it off.
March 3, 2015 - I repaid my student loans in full.
March 16, 2015 - I released a brand new video project in collaboration with Medalta and the Medicine Hat College called, Bits to Atoms.
March 2015 - I took a "working holiday" to Hawaii with my family and photo journaled the entire experience. From exploring Honolulu to sailing on the ocean to hiking Diamond Head, one of my personal highlights was renting a Bentley and road tripping around Oahu. This is the photo series that followed.
Oahu, Hawaii
From hula dancers on Waikiki Beach to surfers on the North Shore, there's nothing quite like getting lost in some iconic scenes around Oahu, Hawaii. These are a few moments I captured while shooting my Aloha Hawaii photo series earlier this year: http://goo.gl/BDRZxE
Posted by Editing Luke on Thursday, October 22, 2015
April 30, 2015 - I released a new video I shot for the Travelling Exhibition Program, highlighting an experience between professional artists and kids in an elementary school classroom.
May 13, 2015 - The former / abandoned I-XL brick factory in Medicine Hat's historic clay district was opening for tours for the first time and I had the chance to explore it. Check out the images here.
June 4, 2015 - I released a new video for the Sunshine Skillet highlighting the vibrant culinary scene emerging in downtown Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Roving Dinner, Downtown Medicine Hat
Earlier this year the Sunshine Skillet Food Festival put on this really cool event in downtown Medicine Hat, Alberta. Guests were treated to 3 courses at 3 unique downtown locations - Twist Wine & Tapas The Cypress Club Madhatter Roastery. Here's a quick look at how it all went down. http://goo.gl/ThrpWA
Posted by Editing Luke on Monday, October 26, 2015
July 1, 2015 - I photographed the fireworks around the Saamis Teepee during Canada Day.
July 2015 - From postcards to a travel guide, I did some really cool work with Tourism Medicine Hat in 2015.
August 5, 2015 - Approved for a media pass, I attended the incredible Shambhala Music Festival in British Columbia to photograph the experience. This is the photo series that followed.
August 20, 2015 - I had another viral blog post on my hands when I released my 7 Wonders of Medicine Hat.
August 25, 2015 - I was hired to create the launch video for the brand new Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat. I had shot the project over the summer, and had the privilege of getting to see the video debut on the jumbotron.
September 2015 - In what became one of my most ambitious road trips to date, my friend Mike and I took his brand new BMW on a coastal drive from Seattle down to San Diego over the course of 2 weeks. It was another incredible "working holiday" where I photo journaled everything. Lots and lots of pictures from this adventure are still to come in 2016.
September 29, 2015 - One of my favorite video projects of the year was finally released called, "If These Walls Could Talk". Highlighting the originality and cultural impact of Medalta Potteries, this video got a lot of buzz online.
"If These Walls Could Talk"
How much do you know about Medalta or The Market at Medalta or Medalta International Artists in Residence? Earlier this year I had the opportunity to explore this historic site in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada with the goal of creating a video to showcase what makes this place tick. I can tell you one thing for sure - as cool as the history is, it's a lot more than just a museum today.
Posted by Editing Luke on Thursday, October 15, 2015
October 5, 2015 - After nearly 2 years of waiting, I was overjoyed to see the permanent art installation featuring my photography unveiled in the brand new Medicine Hat Airport Terminal.
October 17, 2015 - I was nominated for Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
October 30, 2015 - I released a brand new video celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Esplanade@10
This month I had the pleasure of being asked to help create a video to celebrate the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre's 10 year anniversary in Medicine Hat, Alberta. There was no way I was going to be able to incorporate all of the stories I heard during the shoot, but in the end I think some really genuine moments were captured.To create this video, we connected with Esplanade Staff, Volunteers, and Esplanauts (Discovery Centre art class participants) ranging in age from kindergarten to retirees. Each participant was asked to share a memorable Esplanade story, moment or experience from the past ten years. From over three hours of interview footage, a very honest, thoughtful, and emotional seven minute video emerged, capturing the essence of the Esplanade’s impact on this community.And what about your stories? I'd love to hear about some of the positive memories / experiences you've had at the Esplanade too!
Posted by Editing Luke on Wednesday, October 28, 2015
November 1, 2015 - In addition to photographing the annual Black & White Gala fundraiser at Medalta, I was asked to create a custom design to showcase on 12 sets of vintage Hycroft dinnerware to be featured in the live auction. My plates ended up selling for over $3000 with the proceeds going to help fund Medalta's community programming.
November 20, 2015 - My portfolio site got a massive overhaul.
December 1, 2015 - With some big strides made in 2015, I put together a list of 8 things that I figured most people didn't know about Editing Luke.
December 2015 - I closed out the year much the way I began it with another "working holiday" in California. Focused around Los Angeles and San Diego this time, I came back with some exciting content that will feature strongly in 2016.
In looking back it's pretty incredible to see what a significant year it really was. This site has afforded me the luxury of keeping track of my time and accomplishments, and once again it's provided the motivation to keep reaching for those new challenges. Thank you sharing your time with me in 2015. Let's make 2016 even better!
The last year was one of major transition for me, and it's something that will undoubtedly continue into 2015. After being laid off at the start of the year, I took the leap and began pursuing the work I'd already been doing and sharing on Editing Luke in a more full-time capacity. This meant more corporate and promotional shoots, more varied video projects, and overall, a lot more risk. It's something I'm still figuring out.
The challenges I faced in 2014 made the rewards seem sweeter, but they also added new stresses. As a result, it's the first time in years that I can honestly say that major changes have become a necessity. New career goals, the potential for a new location, and a desire for new opportunities could make 2015 the biggest transition year for me since I came back from university in 2008. My future has never seemed as open-ended as it does right now, and it was the events of the last year that made this clear.
These are some of the things that made my 2014 memorable:
January 2014 - I began my year still riding high on the news of the art wall that the City of Medicine Hat had commissioned from me for the new airport terminal expansion. While technically an end of year project in 2013, it was in January that I revealed what the art wall would look like and delivered the finished panels to the City. My permanent art installation should be installed in the new terminal in 2015.
January 21, 2014 - I debuted a new video created for the Mayor's State of the City Address, featuring All Hell for a Basement by Big Sugar.
January 28, 2014 - Images that I shot of Aaron Nelson's exhibition at the Esplanade were published in Ceramics Ireland magazine and on C-File.
February 19, 2014 - For the first time I worked out a consignment deal and began offering framed prints available exclusively through the Peacock's Feather in Medicine Hat.
February 28, 2014 - I was laid off. After nearly 5 years as the Web Media Editor, creating original photo and video content for Weddingstar.com, I said my farewell.
March 2014 - I documented the 2014 Calgary International Auto Show and the Cars of the Big & Small Screen exhibit at Heritage Park.
March 31, 2014 - I celebrated my 30th birthday.
April 14, 2014 - Several of my images were published in a spread for Studio Magazine.
April 18, 2014 - One of my photographs of Redcliff, Alberta became the subject of an elementary school's art project. See the result here.
April 25, 2014 - I documented the Sunset Dinner, an opener to the 2014 Sunshine Skillet Festival.
May 2, 2014 - I began working on an archival project with Medalta Potteries to edit the limited footage of the I-XL Brick Plant when it was in operation. These were some of the images I captured while exploring the factory.
May 29, 2014 - The Thinking Hat exhibition that I collaborated on gained a bit more attention when it went on display in downtown Medicine Hat just before Spectrum.
May 31, 2014 - Editing Luke celebrated 7 years.
June 11, 2014 - I was hired to do a shoot for Salazar Films, a production company based out of Vancouver, BC.
June 13, 2014 - I took part in a panel for Now We're Talking 2014.
June 2014 - The biggest photo project I undertook this year was expanding my collection of Alberta imagery. At the end of June I kicked this off with a week long road trip, driving the length of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. This continued with a few more photo journaling trips through the Canadian Badlands, and visits to several National Historic Sites located in Southern Alberta. Explore the complete collection here.
July 22, 2014 - I was invited to document the interior of the abandoned Redcliff Pressed Brick Factory before work began on partially demolishing the site for a park.
August 18, 2014 - I was hired to shoot aerial photography over the Canadian Badlands (near Horseshoe Canyon) from a helicopter.
August 25, 2014 - Working on the fundraising campaign for the new Regional Event Centre, I had the opportunity to tour the construction site with the mayor while shooting footage for the project.
September 5, 2014 - I was contracted to do a shoot of Mad Hatter Coffee Roastery for the fall issue of Westworld Magazine.
September 2014 - My video short Art Casual debuted on a giant inflatable screen during Alberta Culture Days on the front lawn of the Esplanade.
October 2014 - The time had come, and I did a massive upgrade on my editing suite.
October 25, 2014 - For the 2nd year in a row, I was the official photographer for Medalta's Black and White Gala.
November 25, 2014 - I did two speaking engagements for the Medicine Hat College, one to Visual Communications students and one to a larger audience for the Inspire Lectures series. I spoke about pursuing your passion and entrepreneurship.
December 2014 - Something that had been on my to-do list for several years, at the beginning of December I returned to Southern California to retrace the steps of the road trips I had taken with my friend Dave before he passed away in 2011. The resulting photo series and video project will debut in early 2015.
December 12, 2014 - Following last year's success, I collaborated with Matt Teel again to produce another calendar using the imagery from my Around the Hat series.
December 20, 2014 - As difficult as it is to sum up my year in a single post, I did my best to summarize my top 5 favourite photo shoots that I completed in 2014. See the post here.
It's the ups and downs that keep things interesting, and for that reason I can't help but be optimistic about what 2015 will bring. I wish you all the very best in the new year ahead, and want to say thank you for your continued support and interest in the work I share here.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, 2013 was without question the busiest year of my professional life to date. I never expected so much to take off, pan out, and so many doors to open along the way. This was a year of big rewards, a year where the contacts I made through my work became business associates, and a year where the potential I had been discussing for a long time started to become a reality. It was a thrill ride from start to finish.
That's not to say that 2013 wasn't without its challenges. Work drained me, I lost my aunt to cancer, and my Jaguar went to the scrapyard. Even when things were going extremely well, there were plenty of times when I felt I was fighting an uphill battle just to keep everything under control. Moving forward I think finding a better balance between my work life and social life will be essential.
Here are some of the things that made my 2013 memorable:
January 2013 - I kick-started my year by launching my first series of original postcards from my Around the Hat photo series. This was also when I made it official that I was selling prints of all my original images. I had no real plan at the time, but this ended up becoming a huge feature of my site over the year.
February 2, 2013 - Around the Hat got a featured article in the Medicine Hat Newspaper, which resulted in me getting access to a number of downtown locations to photograph the interiors.
February 22, 2013 - After the transmission went on my Jaguar I had to make the difficult decision to retire the vehicle. I initially wrote about my upset here. The car had been a passion project of mine for over 2 years, and it was tough to finally admit that my time with the car had finished. In the end I opted for a more practical daily driver, however I've been keeping my eye out for another Jaguar for a purely recreational vehicle.
March 15, 2013 - I posted a promo video for my Around the Hat series that went on to surpass 40,000 views.
April 12, 2013 - My aunt lost her battle with cancer and I wrote this post about some of my memories of her, including the letter that I read at her funeral. This was a big loss for our family, and took us by surprise when everything took a turn for the worse so quickly. I miss her.
April 17, 2013 - I was hired to do photography for the Sunshine Skillet Food Fair.
May 4, 2013 - My good friends Andrea and Travis were married at the Esplanade.
May 17, 2013 - I did a really cool photo shoot with my cousin, Rupali.
May 24, 2013 - Throughout May I was busy capturing the experiments and creations with the ceramic 3D printer at Medalta Potteries. I was hired to create a video and shot a handful of images in the process. It was an amazing experience and opened the doors for lots of exciting work with Medalta for the rest of the year.
May 31, 2013 - Editing Luke celebrated 6 years.
June 8, 2013 - I took a road trip back to Regina, Saskatchewan to catch up with friends. I also spent lots of quality time with Darwin and got him a pretty sweet ride too.
June 11, 2013 - My Regina phone book cover was released.
June 27, 2013 - I did tons of photography of the flood that hit Medicine Hat (and much of Alberta) at the end of June. I posted numerous photo sets, and following the disaster I put together this reel of some of my best shots over the course of the disaster.
July 15, 2013 - I sold some images to I-XL for their corporate stationery, and did the photography for Medalta Potteries' gift shop. All of my work around the historic clay district leading up to the summer encouraged me to put together this photography reel.
August 20, 2013 - One of my most epic adventures of the year was the road trip through the Pacific Northwest that I took with my friend Mike. It resulted in me shooting thousands of images throughout Alberta, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, the creation of my Pacific Northwest photo series page, and numerous shares and highlights on facebook from the pages of the places that I photographed.
It was an amazing chance to showcase a lot of variety and styles on my blog for the remainder of the year, and the response was incredible. From the top of the Space Needle to the coast highway of Oregon, the trip was a visual paradise. My promo video for the photo series alone has already received over 36,000 views.
August 21, 2013 - It was also a year of crossing things off my bucket list. I bought tickets for the Paul McCartney concert in Regina the day the went on sale, and my friend Wendy and I shared an incredible experience. I was buzzing the entire day and had chills as we belted out Hey Jude with 40,000 other excited fans.
September 19, 2013 - During the fall I was busy shooting the Southeast by Southeast residency for Medalta. This was a feature on five artists from Southeast Asia and their cross-cultural experiences with the artists in Southeastern Alberta. Once again I shot a handful of images of the experience, and the video was finally released in November.
September 27, 2013 - I was hired to do a promotional video of Medicine Hat culture for Medalta, Travel Alberta, the Esplanade, and Stay in Medicine Hat for release during Alberta Culture Days.
October 1, 2013 - Following the Culture Days weekend, I shared the highlights from the downtown exhibition that I was part of (Thinking Hat - a collaboration with SPECTACLE) where I showcased some of my images from my Around the Hat series. Over the weekend we had 500 people in attendance, including many local politicians, and received numerous mentions in the media.
October 26, 2013 - I made good on a promise and did a really nice photo shoot featuring my parents.
November 6, 2013 - I was hired to do the photography for Medalta's biggest fundraiser of the year, the Black and White Gala, and shared a few of the highlights.
November 18, 2013 - I took a moment to recount just how insane my year had been. This post probably best captured how over scheduled I'd become throughout the fall.
November 28, 2013 - The City of Medicine Hat contacted me about doing an art wall for the new airport terminal expansion. After a few whirlwind discussions they approved my proposal and commissioned me to create a permanent art installation. This was the first part of the story I posted.
December 2, 2013 - I was hired to do a photo shoot of Aaron Nelson's Connectivity exhibit at the Esplanade.
December 7, 2013 - A local realtor contacted me about doing a sponsored calendar using my Around the Hat images. The release has been a huge success, and at this rate I'll now be completely sold out in a matter days.
December 9, 2013 - There were a number of projects going on with Weddingstar in 2013 (who I do the in-house media for full-time). This Christmas shoot was one of my favorites.
December 24, 2013 - Throughout the year I was also busy digitizing the VHS home videos our family had from 1989-1995. This first tape from Christmas Day in 1989 was the first video I shared, and marks the start of some of the content I'm looking forward to sharing in the new year.
I want to thank all of you for sharing your time with me this year. Your support, your messages, your patronage, etc. have made this experience incredible. Over 100,000 people visited Editing Luke in 2013 and it's been amazing to see my work spread and shared and promoted in so many ways. This year has been the most successful in my site's history, and I can't wait to see how the trend continues in 2014.
Here's to continued adventures in the new year!
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